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CV NEWS FEED // The New Mexico Supreme Court unanimously ruled Jan. 9 to allow people access to chemical abortions, striking down pro-life local ordinances in two cities and two counties that centered around the Comstock Act of 1873, according to the Santa Fe Reporter.
The Reporter explained that the Comstock Act “bars sending any materials considered ‘obscene, lewd or lascivious,’ in the mail, as well as items considered ‘immoral’ or ‘indecent,’ including anything pertaining to contraception or abortion.”
According to Reuters, New Mexico Lea and Roosevelt counties, along with the cities of Hobbs and Clovis — which all border Texas — had previously passed pro-life ordinances that sought to stop abortion clinics from receiving or sending the chemical abortion pill mifepristone, arguing that the clinics need to follow the federal Comstock Act.
An Administrative Office of the Courts press release explained that “Roosevelt County’s ordinance would have allowed anyone 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.”
Attorney General Raúl Torrez brought the case to the court in 2024 to invalidate the ordinances, according to the release.
According to the New Mexico Supreme Court’s ruling in State ex. rel. Raúl Torrez v. Board of County Commissioners for Lea County, the attorneys for the counties and the cities argued that the local ordinances were protected under the Comstock Act.
The Court rejected this argument, writing in the decision, “While the Ordinances restate the Comstock Act’s prohibitions, they do not, as Respondents claim, ‘simply parrot’ federal law.”
The ruling secures New Mexico’s standing as a go-to destination for people seeking abortions from states, such as Texas, that have life-affirming laws protecting unborn children from chemical and surgical abortions, according to VOA News.
“The bottom line is simply this, abortion is safe and secure in New Mexico,” Torrez said in a press conference responding to the court’s Jan. 9 ruling. “It’s enshrined in law by the recent ruling by the New Mexico Supreme Court and thanks to the work of the New Mexico Legislature.”
In a statement after the ruling, New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham reiterated her support for unrestricted abortion.
“Let me be crystal clear: as long as I’m governor, New Mexico will fight any attempt to limit reproductive healthcare access,” Grisham said, “whether those challenges come from local ordinances, other states, or the federal government. Healthcare decisions are personal, and they’ll stay that way in New Mexico.”
Executive director of the New Mexico Alliance for Life Elisa Martinez said in a statement that the ruling “was anticipated given the court’s composition and the significant sway of the abortion lobby in our state.”
“The court wisely refrained from overstepping its boundaries by misinterpreting the New Mexico constitution as guaranteeing a right to elective abortion,” she added. “This decision, although not in favor of pro-life ordinances, highlights the importance of our ongoing fight for life and actual reproductive health choices for women, along with the need for clarity from the United States Supreme Court on the enforcement of federal law.”
