New Mexico starts building an abortion clinic to serve neighboring states
SANTA FE, NM — Construction has begun on a state-funded reproductive health and abortion clinic in southern New Mexico. The clinic will serve local residents and people traveling from neighboring states like Texas and Oklahoma that have strict abortion restrictions, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced Thursday.
Construction of the clinic will require $10 million in state funding that set aside by the governor under a 2022 executive order. New Mexico has one of the most liberal abortion access laws in the country.
Lujan Grisham, a second-term Democrat who will not run for re-election in 2026, reiterated her commitment to expanding abortion access following the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade and repealed universal abortion access.
“Access to reproductive health care should be a basic human right,” Lujan Grisham said in a statement. “Once completed, this clinic will be a testament to our state’s commitment to reproductive freedom for New Mexicans, as well as for those traveling here from out of state who need this care.”
New Mexico follows Democratic states from California to New Jersey in efforts to improve abortion services and protections.
New Jersey last year $15 million awarded in zero-interest loans and grants to health care facilities that provide abortion services for facility improvements and increased safety. In 2022, California lawmakers approve $200 million in new spending to strengthen the state’s already robust abortion protections.
The New Mexico governor’s announcement puts the state’s abortion policy back in the spotlight ahead of the November general election. The entire state legislature is up for re-election, while Democrats are defending their majorities in the House and Senate.
Republican candidates for a U.S. Senate seat and a congressional district in southern New Mexico have indicated they will not support a federal ban on abortion, according to Democratic-backed political ads highlighting the possibility of further federal restrictions.
In 2021, New Mexico state lawmakers repealed a dormant 1969 law that made most abortion procedures criminal, ensuring access. But opposition to abortion is strong in New Mexico communities along the Texas border, which one of the most restrictive bans in the US
Several cities and counties in New Mexico have passed ordinances banning abortions, but they have been put on hold while the state Supreme Court considers whether local governments have the right to support federal restrictions on abortion under a 19th century American law which prohibits the shipping of abortion drugs and supplies.
It was unclear when the new clinic would open in Las Cruces. The clinic would offer a range of services, from medical and procedural abortions to contraception, cervical screenings and adoption counseling.