New Mexico opens state-funded abortion clinic
New effort is part of Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham's policymaking geared at supporting abortion providers
Construction workers broke ground on a state-funded abortion clinic in Dona Ana County in southern New Mexico to help meet a sharply increased demand for reproductive services.
It was partly funded by $10 million in capital improvement money secured by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham in 2022.
“Access to reproductive healthcare should be a fundamental human right,” said Gov. Lujan Grisham. “Once completed, this clinic will stand as a testament to our state’s commitment to reproductive freedom for residents of New Mexico, as well as those who travel here from out-of-state in need of this care.”
The goal was to serve medical needs and to train people on methods of performing abortions. They will also provide birth control methods, like IUDs, EC, and barrier contraception. STI testing and preventative care are also available.
I had the opportunity to hear Gov. Grisham speak at an event before the Democratic National Convention. She was on a panel discussing governors' role in advancing reproductive rights. Grisham said that she had placed advertisements in Texas newspapers to get doctors to come to New Mexico to practice medicine if they wanted to be in a state that supported reproductive rights.
“We can go forward in ways that we didn't think about including sovereign nations or thinking about providing reproductive health services directly and in sovereign nations,” Grisham said.
In theory, that is a good idea, but I don’t know if newspaper advertisements are the best way to spend advertising dollars anymore. Very few young people read print editions. If you wanted to reach younger medical students or doctors, the ad money would better be spent on social media services. It would get more eyes. Alternatively, New Mexico officials could advertise in medical journals as well. Creating programs to alleviate medical student debt for doctors who provide abortion services would also be an incentive to meet the worker shortage.
As a side note, I apologize for not writing more this week. I am in England on vacation while researching the Aleck Bourne abortion trial for a screenplay and play I am working on. I plan on doing a little reporting from London as a vital protest is going on Saturday outside Parliament. If I were giving travel recommendations, I would say the oysters here are better than in New Orleans. This isn’t a food blog, but for anyone here, eat some. Anyway, I’ll soon have more.