A March report from the Guttmacher Institute tracked the increase of abortions performed in New Mexico this year, observing a 250% increase since 2022. Two-thirds of them were patients who traveled from Texas — a state with a near-total abortion ban.
Significant barriers to accessing reproductive healthcare include cost, transportation, social stigma and insufficient rural healthcare workforce, according to Scholars Strategy Network. The University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center aims to identify gaps in healthcare to prevent barriers, according to Communications Director Chris Ramirez.
There are seven abortion providers in northern New Mexico and four providers in southern New Mexico — three of which are in Las Cruces, according to AbortionFinder.
In 2022, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed an executive order allocating $10 million in capital outlay to build a Reproductive Health Center located in Las Cruces. UNM was selected as the principal fiscal agent for the project, according to Source New Mexico.
According to Lujan Grisham’s website, the executive order was meant to “support the rights of New Mexicans to make their own decisions without government interference.” It was signed into law in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade, and mentioned that limited reproductive healthcare access in other states may lead more people to seek services from New Mexico.
UNM HSC’s research revealed that the greatest area of need for reproductive healthcare was in southern New Mexico, Ramirez said. For example, Doña Ana County does not have sufficient access to this type of care for its population size, he said.
Doña Ana County is one of 39 counties in New Mexico classified as a Medically Underserved Area by the Health Resources and Services Administration.
“Any time you expand a healthcare service into a community, the community benefits,” Ramirez said.
According to UNM HSC, 60% of New Mexicans live in rural areas associated with health disparities.
“Increasing access literally saves lives. It ensures the safety of mothers, it ensures the safety of everybody involved in needing reproductive healthcare,” Ramirez said.
In addition to abortion, the full-service Reproductive Health Center will also provide patients with contraceptives, access to doulas and midwives, and vasectomies, Ramirez said.
Another UNM healthcare facility, the Truman Health Center located in Roswell, began operating in April 2024.
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“For the first time that center in Roswell (is) able to provide HIV treatment, HIV preventative medication, tests for sexually transmitted diseases — that’s a huge, huge service for southeastern New Mexico,” Ramirez said.
The Truman Health Center also caters to gender non-conforming individuals, Ramirez said.
Ramirez said there was hope the Reproductive Health Center would “break ground late summer,” and the clinic is expected to be open to the public 18 months after that.
“Any time UNM can expand healthcare services, it’s a win for New Mexico. We know that health outcomes in Doña Ana Country will be better because of it,” Ramirez said.
Shin Thant Hlaing is a freelance reporter at the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at news@dailylobo.com
