New Mexico Supreme Court strikes down local antiabortion ordinances
Unanimous decision places responsibility for regulating abortion back in the legislature.
The New Mexico Supreme Court ruled against several local governments that had attempted to enact antiabortion ordinances.
The court unanimously decided that abortion regulation should fall under the purview of the state legislature. Justice C. Shannon Bacon wrote the majority opinion.
“Our Legislature granted to counties and municipalities all powers and duties not inconsistent with the laws of New Mexico,” Bacon wrote. “The Ordinances violate this core precept and invade the Legislature’s authority to regulate access to and provision of reproductive health care.”
The opinion concluded that those governments exceeded their authority. It also said it violated the Health Care Freedom Act, which reinforces statewide access to reproductive and gender-affirming care.
The ordinances that had been proposed Ordinances sought to restrict local access to abortion services by requiring compliance with the federal Comstock Act, which is an antiquated law that forbade the mailing of abortifacients and birth control in the late 19th and early 20th century. That law has never been repealed because it was rendered moot by the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Roe v. Wade.
Other ordinances created cumbersome licensing requirements for abortion clinics. These laws would have imposed civil and criminal penalties for violating them. A Lea County ordinance provided penalties amounting to $300 per violation of the Comstock Act, including aiding and abetting a woman who gets an abortion. A Roosevelt County ordinance allowed people to sue anyone involved with an abortion for $100,000 or more.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham issued the following statement after the New Mexico Supreme Court’s decision.
“Today’s unanimous Supreme Court decision affirms what we’ve known all along – healthcare decisions belong to New Mexican women and their doctors, not politicians. While some communities may disagree, our state constitution and laws are clear. No city or county can restrict the fundamental rights of New Mexicans or override state law.”
If you’re interested in a relevant abortion case, read my newsletter about the Akron v. Akron Center for Reproductive Health decision that dealt with localities trying to regulate abortion. It happened in the 1980s. It’s one of the aspects of abortion jurisprudence that now is unclear because of the Dobbs decision.