Senate passes bill protecting abortion, gender-affirming care

A bill to protect access to abortion and gender-affirming health care in New Mexico amid pushback from communities in more conservative parts of the state is one step closer to reaching the desk of Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham.

After nearly three hours of emotional and, at times, heated debate Tuesday, the Senate passed House Bill 7, which would prohibit local governments from restricting or blocking access to reproductive and gender-affirming health care.

The bill, which still has to go back to the House of Representatives for a concurrence vote on amendments, passed the Senate on a 23-15 vote, with Democrat Pete Campos of Las Vegas joining Republicans in opposition.

The push to safeguard abortion access in New Mexico — a campaign promise and legislative priority of the governor — comes after two counties and three cities in the eastern part of the state adopted anti-abortion ordinances following the U.S. Supreme Court decision to overturn the landmark ruling in Roe v. Wade, eliminating the federal constitutional right to abortion and leaving the decision up to states.

“House Bill 7 is a bill that ensures that everyone in New Mexico has access to what can often be lifesaving health care, no matter where they live,” said Sen. Katy Duhigg, D-Albuquerque, who is among the sponsors.

The governor is expected to sign the measure. “The governor fully supports the bodily autonomy of women and efforts to preserve that right, including this legislation,” Maddy Hayden, a spokeswoman for Lujan Grisham, wrote in an email.

An additional bill working its way through the Legislature would protect abortion providers and patients from out-of-state interference, prosecution or extradition attempts.

HB 7 encountered stiff opposition from Republicans, who introduced seven amendments, including a proposal to require an ultrasound before an abortion.

“I know that we don’t want to know that this baby is a baby,” said Sen. Bill Sharer, R-Farmington. “I know we want to hide that fact from each other because it helps our conscience. As long as we don’t know what we’re killing, then it doesn’t hurt as bad.”

Sen. Crystal Diamond, R-Elephant Butte, a mother of two, proposed an amendment to require parental consent for gender-affirming health care or abortion care to minors.

“This amendment is only to make sure that those choices are not going to be made alone,” she said.

“It doesn’t prevent access at all,” Diamond added. “In fact, with their guardian, they can go through with an abortion should they decide together that that is the best course of action. All it does is to make sure that that child is not making the choice on their own.”

Sen. Jerry Ortiz y Pino, D-Albuquerque, said “there would be no problem” with Diamond’s proposed amendment if all families were as supportive, caring and loving as hers.

“There are families where the father may have been the father of the baby that the teenager is carrying,” he said.

“There are families where the mother will throw the girl out if she finds out that she is pregnant,” Ortiz y Pino added. “There are families where siblings are allowed to have sexual access to their sister, and to require that girl to have signatures from both parents … is a Pollyannaish view of what the real world is like for so many of these families and for so many of these young women.”

After Diamond’s amendment failed, she tweeted, “That means a 10yr old girl can get an abortion or a 9yr boy can change genders — all without parent permission.”

All seven amendments proposed by Republicans were rejected by Democrats.

The debate got heated when Sen. David Gallegos, R-Eunice, compared abortion in New Mexico to the Holocaust.

“It’s thought that the out-ofstate abortions could climb as high as [8,000] to 9,000 abortions in our state going forward, and I just want to remind the body that if you look backwards, the Holocaust was 5 million to 6 million Jews. If those numbers are in fact right, [8,000] to 9,000, New Mexico would have aborted that amount in about six years. I look back at the atrocity that happened to Jews, and it was government directed, and I just feel that it’s really sad that New Mexico is taking a risk for our citizens.”

Duhigg, who was presenting the bill on the floor, expressed outrage at his comments.

“As a Jewish person, it is really offensive when folks trot out the Holocaust to make political points,” she said.

Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows there were fewer than 4,300 abortions performed in New Mexico in 2020, the latest data available — less than half Gallegos’ estimate. About 30% were for out-state-residents that year, according to the CDC.

“Where is this state headed?” Senate Minority Leader Greg Baca of Belen asked. “Where are we headed in things like morality and family building and loving people and taking care of each other? … I hope that God has forgiveness on us.”

Sen. Antoinette Sedillo Lopez, D-Albuquerque, said HB 7 is “particularly important” in this moment of time.

“Not only across New Mexico but across the country, we’re seeing legal attacks on an individual’s choices with regard to their body and how they express themselves,” she said.

“This is just such a great bill,” she added. “I really encourage all of my colleagues to vote for it because it’ll make New Mexico the haven that it should be.”

Sen. Siah Correa Hemphill, D-Silver City, said the bill would ensure medical care isn’t withheld amid complex decisions about pregnancies.

“These are not decisions that are made lightly,” she said. “Each pregnancy is unique, and health care providers need to be able to provide the care that their patients need without government interference.”