Jennifer Neuman-Roper, mother of three, spouse of Angelique Neuman-Roper, and a plaintiff in the ACLU lawsuit for the right to marry in New Mexico, died Friday at age 44 of brain cancer, The Advocate reports.
The couple won an emergency court order that allowed them to marry several days before a district court judge ordered the Santa Fe County clerk to grant same-sex couples marriage licenses, “a decision spurred largely by the couple’s request to expedite the lawsuit due to Jennifer’s failing health,” says the ACLU. The couple in August joined the Griego v. Oliver lawsuit that is still pending in the state Supreme Court. The four other plaintiffs in the case are also moms.
Neuman-Roper’s obituary also tells us, “After graduating from NMIMT [New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology] with a degree in Materials Engineering, she worked as a technician at LANL, and later as the Technology Director at the Pueblo of Pojoaque Boys and Girls Club (PPBGC).  Jen’s passions were her family, technology, reading, and board games.”
She is not the only mom who was a plaintiff in a marriage equality lawsuit and died of cancer. Chief Warrant Officer 2 Charlie Morgan, of the New Hampshire National Guard, was a plaintiff in a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), and died from breast cancer this past February.
No one suffering from a terminal illness should have to spend energy fighting for recognition of her relationship with the one she loves.
My sympathies to Neuman-Roper’s family and friends.
