The Democratic governor of New Mexico, Michelle Lujan Grisham, has just signed an executive order that will put a staggering $10 million toward the construction of a facility that would provide abortions as well as other services.
According to the executive order, the Department of Finance and Administration is to assign $10 million of the Executive’s capital distribution for the forthcoming 2023 parliamentary session for the purpose of building a clinic in Dona Ana County that offers a full spectral range of patient-centered and community-informed reproductive health services, including abortion. The clinic is to focus on the needs of the community and provide services such as family planning and abortion.
Today I signed an executive order expanding access to reproductive health care in New Mexico.
I am designating $10 million for the establishment of a full-spectrum reproductive health care clinic in southern New Mexico to expand access to essential care, including abortion. pic.twitter.com/kMwwrBpMvL
— Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham (@GovMLG) August 31, 2022
The order directs the Department of Health of the state to “develop a detailed plan to leverage State resources to expand access to reproductive healthcare, including abortion, in underserved areas of the State” and to “assess the feasibility of the provision of medication abortion in public health clinics overseen by the Department.”
Lujan Grisham was elected to her position as governor of New Mexico in 2019, and she is presently running for re-election ahead of the state’s gubernatorial race in 2022.
According to a press release, the Republican candidate challenging Lujan Grisham, Mark Ronchetti, stated that New Mexico already served as the abortion center of the United States, and now citizens are getting to foot the bill for a clinic that will terminate pregnancies up to the point of birth for non-residents who arrive from other across the country. “Using taxpayer dollars to enable and fund abortion up until the point of birth is not only out of line with New Mexican values, it is extreme.”
According to the Albuquerque Journal, the state of New Mexico does not impose any restrictions on the practice of abortion at this time.
Per the press release issued by Ronchetti, the Republican candidate has suggested limiting abortions to the first 15 weeks of a woman’s pregnancy, with exceptions made for pregnancies resulting from incest or rape as well as situations in which the life of the pregnant woman is in danger.
Lujan Grisham is quoted in a press release as saying that New Mexico will proceed to not only protect full abortion rights but also to broaden and strengthen access to contraception throughout the state. This statement was made in response to the trend observed in recent years of more states moving to restrict and prohibit access to reproductive care. “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,” she said. “I am committed to doing everything in my power to achieve this goal.“