The New Mexico Supreme Court on Thursday struck down abortion restrictions by conservative cities and counties, helping ensure the state remains a preferred destination for people from other states with restrictions.
The unanimous opinion, in response to a request from state Attorney General Raul Torrez, solidifies the state’s position as having some of the most liberal abortion laws in the country.
Lawyers representing the cities of Hobbs and Clovis and Lee and Roosevelt counties had argued that provisions of the federal “anti-vice” law known as the Comstock Act prevent courts from striking down local abortion ordinances.
But Justice C. Shannon Bacon, writing for the majority opinion, said state law prevents cities and counties from restricting abortion or regulating abortion clinics.
“The ordinances violate this basic principle and invade the Legislature’s authority to regulate access to and provision of reproductive health care,” they wrote. “We believe the ordinances have been fully preempted.”
New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez praised the court’s decision Thursday, saying the core of the reasoning was that state law prohibits local governments from engaging in activities that violate citizens’ constitutional rights.
“The bottom line is this: Access to abortion is safe in New Mexico,” he said. “It is enshrined in law by a recent decision of the New Mexico Supreme Court and thanks to the work of the New Mexico Legislature.”
New Mexico House Speaker Javier Martínez called access to health care a basic fundamental right in New Mexico.
The Albuquerque Democrat said, “It doesn’t take a genius to figure out the statutory framework we have. Local governments do not regulate health care in New Mexico. It’s up to the state.”
Opposition to abortion runs deep in New Mexico communities bordering Texas, which have some of the most restrictive restrictions in the US.
But Democrats, who control every statewide elected office in New Mexico and hold majorities in the state House and Senate, have moved to expand abortion access — both before and after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade would end abortion rights nationwide in 2022.
In 2021, the New Mexico Legislature repealed a defunct 1969 statute that outlawed most abortion procedures as felonies, ensuring abortion access even after Roe v. Wade turned away.
And in 2023, the Democratic New Mexico governor. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed a bill that eliminates local ordinances aimed at limiting abortion access and created a shield law that protects abortion providers from scrutiny by other states.
In September, construction began on a state-funded reproductive health and abortion clinic in southern New Mexico that will serve local residents and people traveling from neighboring states.
The new clinic is scheduled to be completed by early 2026, providing services ranging from medical and procedural abortions to contraception, cervical cancer screenings and education about adoption.
In Thursday’s opinion, the judges said they particularly “strongly caution” Roosevelt County over an ordinance that would allow individuals to sue for violations of the county’s abortion ordinance seeking compensation of more than $100,000. Allows filing.
The court said in its opinion, this provision “would have created a private right of action and damages award that is clearly intended to punish protected conduct.”
Erin Hawley, vice president of the Arizona-based Christian legal advocacy group Alliance Defending Freedom, is an attorney who argued the case on behalf of Roosevelt County. On Thursday he criticized the court’s decision and emphasized its limitations.
“Roosevelt County and other New Mexico localities should be able to enact ordinances that comply with federal law and protect the lives of their citizens,” said Hawley, wife of U.S. Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri. “We are grateful that the New Mexico Supreme Court did not abandon common sense and found the so-called right to abortion enshrined in the state Constitution.”
It was not immediately clear whether the decision could be appealed in federal court or affect broader efforts to enforce the Comstock Act ban on abortion. The New Mexico Supreme Court opinion declined to explicitly address the conflict with federal law, basing its decision entirely on state provisions.
Austin, Texas-based attorney Jonathan Mitchell, former Solicitor General of Texas and architect of that state’s strict abortion ban, said he looks forward to “litigating these issues in other states and bringing the meaning of the federal Comstock Act to the Supreme Court.” Are.” United States of America.”
