Heinrich, Luján sign onto U.S. Senate bill to establish federal right to abortion

Bill would help address strain on NM providers, officials say
New Mexico’s U.S. senators joined the Senate Democratic caucus Wednesdayreintroducing federal legislationto guarantee abortion access across the country.
The legislation is a direct response to the2022 Dobbs decision by the U.S. Supreme Courtthat overturned Roe v. Wade.
In the recent Congressional spending bill signed by President Donald Trump, Republicans included language blocking Planned Parenthood from receiving payments through Medicaid — which provides health insurance to low-income people. While a federal judge in Julytemporarily blocked that component of the lawin a case still pending appeal, another federal judge earlier this week allowed the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services tohalt Medicaid payments to reproductive health care providers in Maine.
The bill backed by New Mexico’s delegation would prevent states from imposing restrictions on access to abortion early in pregnancy; require that states not limit access to abortions later in the pregnancy, if the life or health of the mother is at stake; and protect the right to travel for abortion care.
New Mexico, prior to the SCOTUS’ decision overturning Roe v. Wade, had repealed anantiquated law criminalizing abortion, and enactedadditional protectionsafter the decision.
Subsequently, the number of abortions performed in New Mexicotripled after the Dobbs decision, rising from about 3,000 per year to more than 12,000 procedures. Nearly 70% of the procedures are for people who traveled out of state, according todata collected by Guttmacher.
The proposed federal law aims to address strain on New Mexico and other abortion providers, Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) said in a statement.
“A woman has the right to make her own healthcare decisions without politicians inserting themselves between her and her doctors,” Heinrich said. “That right should not depend on the state she lives in, and the majority of Americans agree. Yet Congressional Republicans are doubling down on a national abortion ban, blocking women from making choices about their own bodies and seeking to criminalize doctors and nurses.”
In the interim since the 2022 Dobbs decision, Republican lawmakers across the country have passed further restrictions on accessing abortion, and introduced potential jail sentences for health providers. According to the Guttmacher Institute, just nine states — including New Mexico — do not restrict abortion based on the length of time of the pregnancy. Furthermore, 28 states limit abortion based on how long someone is pregnant and 12 states have a total abortion ban, according toGuttmacher.
These legal changes at the state level have resulted in unprecedented criminal charges for a New Yorkdoctor for providing abortion medication;criminal investigationsandarrests for women miscarrying; andmore pregnant women dying of infections in Texas.
Fellow New Mexico Democratic U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Luján noted in a statement that U.S. Senate Republicansvoted to block previous, similar legislationadding the GOP’s “position could not be clearer,” on the issue.
“Senate Democrats stand with the majority of Americans who support Roe, and we will keep fighting to restore and protect reproductive rights,” Luján said in a statement. “These relentless attacks from the Trump administration, Congressional Republicans, and the Supreme Court put the most vulnerable at risk and turn back the clock on progress. We will not back down.”
In the last state legislative session, New Mexico lawmakers passedSenate Bill 57, which creates an exemption in the state’s public records laws for any records that contain “personal identifying information or sensitive information,” of public sector abortion providers.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham also has vowed to expand the state’s reproductive health care capacity with a $10 million center in southern New Mexicounder construction; and approval from lawmakers to spend$10 million in capital outlay for a center in northern New Mexicothis past session.