Democratic lawmakers will seek to codify abortion rights in next session

Nov. 13—Following Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham's victory in Tuesday's midterm election, Democratic lawmakers are wasting no time preparing legislation that will ensure women in New Mexico have access to abortion services.

Lujan Grisham, an abortion rights supporter, made it a keystone issue during her campaign against GOP contender Mark Ronchetti, arguing that if he won, abortion would be outlawed in the state.

And though she signed a bill fashioned by lawmakers in 2021 formally removing abortion as a criminal offense, some Democrats want to codify a woman's right to get an abortion.

Sen. Linda Lopez, D-Albuquerque — who sponsored the 2021 bill doing away with a decades-old law making it a crime to perform an abortion — said this week she is still shaping the codification legislation, which she plans to introduce during the 2023 legislative session, which begins in January.

She said the legislation will be based on Lujan Grisham's executive order, issued in August, declaring "abortion is an essential part of reproductive health care and must remain legal, safe and accessible" and expanding access to reproductive health care services in the state.

"In light of what the governor and others are talking about, we want to make sure providers — for New Mexicans and for those who come across state lines — are protected," Lopez said.

She said the legislation will also support and protect other reproductive measures, including contraception and family planning.

Rep. Linda Serrato, D-Santa Fe, said she plans to shape and co-sponsor the bill with Lopez.

"The basic right to bodily autonomy and health care is the least we should provide for New Mexicans," Serrato said, adding she sees abortion care as a form of health care.

"What we are hoping to do is increase access to abortion care, reproductive health care across the state," she said of the proposed legislation, especially since many states, including Texas, have banned abortion.

Serrato said women seeking abortion services may find themselves "sectioned off" depending on which part of the country they live in.

Serrato wrote in a text it's "too early" to provide specifics on the bill.

Lujan Grisham's executive order directed the state Department of Finance and Administration to allocate $10 million of the governor's capital outlay money from the upcoming 2023 legislative session to the creation of a clinic in Doña Ana County, in the southern part of the state.

That clinic would provide "reproductive healthcare, including abortion," the executive order says. It also calls for the development of a "detailed plan" to leverage state resources to expand access to reproductive health care, including abortion services.

Kayla Herring, public affairs director for Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains, said the need for such legislation is key now in the wake of both the U.S. Supreme Court decision in June overturning Roe v. Wade and efforts by some communities in states where abortion is legal to restrict access to abortion services.

"Our policy is critical this year because we know New Mexicans support access to reproductive health care, and we don't want any level of government — from city councilor to state legislator to governor — to interfere with a person's personal medical decisions," she said.

The proposed legislative initiative comes just days after the city of Hobbs, in southeastern New Mexico about 5 miles from the Texas border, passed an ordinance that would make it difficult for abortion clinics to open there.

Hobbs city attorney Efren Cortez said Thursday the ordinance is not an outright ban on abortion clinics, as has been reported in the media. He said it ties any attempts to open abortion clinics to provisions of federal statutes that prohibit shipping or receiving abortion-inducing drugs and other related materials by mail or commercial carrier.

Regarding the proposed legislation that would allow abortion clinics to operate legally, Cortez said, "if that is something they choose to undertake, we'll look at the legislation and see how it impacts the city of Hobbs ordinance."

City officials in Clovis, which is also in the southeastern part of the state near the border with Texas, are considering a similar measure, as is the county commission of Lea County, which is scheduled to discuss the idea at a public meeting in early December.

Numerous Democratic-run states have passed laws over the past few years codifying the right to an abortion, seeking to ensure it would remain legal in the event of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling overturning the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that had previously protected abortion rights across the country. The details of these laws have varied from state to state; they all allow abortion until about 24 weeks or fetal viability, which was the former national standard under Roe, although they differ as to how they treat third-trimester abortions, with some allowing abortion at all stages without restriction and others only allowing third-trimester abortions in certain circumstances.

If Lopez and Serrato's bill becomes law — both said they feel the Democratic-heavy Legislature will support it — it could help stave off possible legal challenges to abortion rights in New Mexico. There's already one such challenge at play.

In July, state Sen. David Gallegos, R-Eunice, joined with a Roswell oil producer and other New Mexico residents to file a court challenge to the 2021 repeal of the 1969 law that made it a crime to perform an abortion in the state.

The plaintiffs are asking the courts to decide if, since the Legislature did not create new statutes to replace the abortion ban that was repealed, the law reverts to an outright ban on abortion.

That suit survived a motion to dismiss earlier this year. A motion hearing on the case is scheduled for Nov. 21 in the 5th Judicial District in Chaves County.

On Thursday, Gallegos said he expected such a move on the part of Democratic lawmakers because it is a priority of the governor's.

"I don't like New Mexico being considered the abortion capital of the world," he said. "I think we have a lot more to give than death."