New Mexico to establish $10M abortion clinic near Texas border
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Michelle Lujan Grisham in Aug. 2019. Photo: Steven St John/Bloomberg via Getty Images
New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) signed an executive order Wednesday setting aside $10 million to develop a new reproductive health care clinic near the state's Texas border.
Why it matters: The new clinic will expand access in the state to the "full spectrum of reproductive health care" and help it prepare for a potential increase in people seeking abortions from other states that have restricted or banned access to the procedure in the wake of the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade.
The big picture: The new clinic will be established in Doña Ana County, which borders Texas and is about 100 miles east from the state's Arizona border, per the Washington Post.
- Both Arizona and Texas have restricted access to abortion.
- The executive order also directs New Mexico's Department of Health to create a plan to ensure abortion medications are available in public health clinics, broadening access to reproductive healthcare, including abortion, in rural and underserved parts of the state.
- Out-of-state abortion providers, including from Texas and Mississippi, have expressed interest in opening clinics in New Mexico in light of Roe's overturning, the Post reported.
What they're saying: “As more states move to restrict and prohibit access to reproductive care, New Mexico will continue to not only protect access to abortion, but to expand and strengthen reproductive health care throughout the state,” Grisham said in a press release.
- “Today, I reaffirm my resolve to make sure that women and families in New Mexico — and beyond — are supported at every step of the way," Grisham added.
- “These efforts to restrict access to reproductive health services from other states may lead more individuals to seek services from New Mexico healthcare providers,” Grisham said in a video call about the executive order, the Guardian reported.
- “The southern part of New Mexico has lacked access to the full spectrum of reproductive healthcare for generations," Kayla Herring, Director of Public Affairs for Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains, added in the press release. "Directing money to help our southern New Mexico families is critical for patient care."
The other side: Elisa Martinez, a former Republican primary candidate for the U.S. Senate in New Mexico, lambasted the decision in a tweet Wednesday, writing that the order would "force taxpayers to fund...a new abortion business!"
