N.M. Supreme Court: Local governments cannot restrict abortion access

The New Mexico Supreme Court ruled Thursday local governments cannot restrict abortion access, issuing an opinion invalidating anti-abortion ordinances passed by some conservative cities and counties in a state that has sought to protect abortion access.

Lea and Roosevelt counties and the cities of Hobbs and Clovis in eastern portions of New Mexico adopted local ordinances aiming to restrict abortion following the overturning of Roe v. Wade by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2022.

"Our Legislature granted to counties and municipalities all powers and duties not inconsistent with the laws of New Mexico. The Ordinances violate this core precept and invade the Legislature's authority to regulate access to and provision of reproductive healthcare," the high court wrote in Thursday opinion.

Some conservative municipalities in New Mexico have tried to restrict abortion, using the federal 1873 Comstock Act — which prohibits mailing abortion-related materials but has long gone unenforced by the federal government — as the legal grounds.

In 2023, the state Legislature passed House Bill 7, known as the Reproductive and Gender-Affirming Health Care Freedom Act, which prohibits local governments from restricting access to abortion.

Attorney General Raúl Torrez, a Democrat, filed a lawsuit in the state Supreme Court last year aiming to invalidate the ordinances.

"The bottom line is simply this: Abortion access is safe and secure in New Mexico. It's enshrined in law by the recent ruling by the New Mexico Supreme Court and thanks to the work by the New Mexico Legislature," Torrez said in a news conference Thursday.

"Look, this is a basic, fundamental right in this state — access to health care, in this case abortion," House Speaker Javier Martínez, D-Albuquerque, said at the news conference. "It doesn't take a genius to understand the statutory framework that we have. Local governments don't regulate health care in New Mexico."

The state Supreme Court heard arguments in the case in December 2023. Lawyers for the local governments said at the time they have the right to adopt federal laws and there is nothing unconstitutional in their actions, arguing the ordinances do not outlaw abortion outright.

Roosevelt County's ordinance would have allowed any person other than a government employee to bring a civil lawsuit against someone and seek damages of at least $100,000 for each violation of the Comstock Act, according to a news release from the New Mexico Administrative Office of the Courts.

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