The Chronicles Of Grant County
Abortion In New Mexico – Part Two
(The image of a sculpture of a baby in hands was provided courtesy of H. Hach through Pixabay, July 12, 2018.)
Decisions regarding abortion – whether to allow the procedure and if allowed, under what regulations – are now in the hands of the states, commonwealths, and district that comprise the United States of America. This is the situation because of the decision of the U S Supreme Court to overturn its previous decisions that arose out of Roe vs. Wade. In June of 2022, the Court decided that there is no provision guaranteeing the right to an abortion under the U S Constitution.
New Mexico, thus, is able to make its own laws regarding abortion. Any laws regarding abortion enacted in New Mexico must still meet the requirements of the New Mexico Constitution.
In 2021, the State Legislature in Santa Fe codified into law abortion rights that are considered quite broad by many in legal circles. On February 26, 2021, Michelle Lujan Grisham, Governor of New Mexico, signed Senate Bill 10 into law, repealing a 1969 state statute that allowed abortions in some cases, but not all situations.
"A woman has the right to make decisions about her own body," Governor Lujan Grisham said in a news statement issued on that same date in 2021. "Anyone who seeks to violate bodily integrity, or to criminalize womanhood, is in the business of dehumanization. New Mexico is not in that business – not any more. Our state statutes now reflect this inviolable recognition of humanity and dignity. I am incredibly grateful to the tireless advocates and legislators who fought through relentless misinformation and fear-mongering to make this day a reality. Equality for all, equal justice and equal treatment – that's the standard. And I'm proud to lead a state that today moved one step closer to that standard."
In March of 1969, the New Mexico State Legislature passed legislation regulating therapeutic abortions in the State. This law allowed abortions in cases where the mental or physical health of the mother was endangered, when pregnancy is caused by rape or incest, or when the unborn child has likely grave mental or physical deformities. Two staff physicians at a licensed hospital would have to review the situation of the mother seeking an abortion and agree that the abortion would meet the standards set by this law.
These two laws – laws passed in 1969 and 2021 – were not the first laws regulating abortions in the State. Even prior to the passage of the 1969 law, New Mexico allowed therapeutic abortions in specific cases.
In 1907, the New Mexico Territorial Legislature passed a law that allowed abortions in cases where it was "...necessary to preserve the life of such mother and shall have been advised by a physician to be necessary for such purpose..."
In 1919, the New Mexico State Legislature passed a law that stated that "...an abortion may be produced when two [2] physicians, licensed to practice in the state of New Mexico, in consultation, deem it necessary to preserve the life of the woman, or to prevent series and permanent bodily injury..."
In 1963, the New Mexico State Legislature passed a law that stated that "An abortion may lawfully be permitted when two [2] physicians who are licensed to practice in this state, in consultation, deem it necessary to preserve the life of the woman or to prevent serious and permanent bodily injury."
Abortion, thus, had been allowed for specific reasons in the State of New Mexico for decades.
During the years leading up to the Roe vs. Wade decision by the U S Supreme Court, women and doctors in New Mexico were not considered criminals when therapeutic abortions were performed due to specific reasons allowed by law within New Mexico.
Abortion – therapeutic abortion – had been allowed in the State; elective abortions for other reasons were not allowed and were against the law in New Mexico.
Each of the four laws – laws passed in 1907, 1919, 1963, and 1969 – indicated that any other use of abortion – except for the specific circumstances where allowed – was illegal in the State of New Mexico.
Beyond the decisions of the State of New Mexico, the Federal government also made changes in regulations regarding abortions among some Federal employees and on Federal lands. New Mexico, as many local folks in Grant County are aware, has substantial employment of Federal employees and a number of Federal governmental facilities within the State's borders.
The next edition of The Chronicles Of Grant County will detail some of those changes made by the Federal government for Federal employees seeking abortions through the years in New Mexico.
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© 2022 Richard McDonough