Abortion in New Mexico

Abortion in New Mexico is legal. 51% of adults said in a poll by the Pew Research Center that abortion should be legal in all or most cases.

The number of abortion clinics in New Mexico has declined over the years, with 26 in 1982, twenty in 1992 and eleven in 2014.  There were 4,500 legal abortions in 2014.

Terminology

The abortion debate most commonly relates to the "induced abortion" of an embryo or fetus at some point in a pregnancy, which is also how the term is used in a legal sense.[note 1] Some also use the term "elective abortion", which is used in relation to a claim to an unrestricted right of a woman to an abortion, whether or not she chooses to have one. The term elective abortion or voluntary abortion describes the interruption of pregnancy before viability at the request of the woman, but not for medical reasons.[1]

Anti-abortion advocates tend to use terms such as "unborn baby", "unborn child", or "pre-born child",[2][3] and see the medical terms "embryo", "zygote", and "fetus" as dehumanizing.[4][5] Both "pro-choice" and "pro-life" are examples of terms labeled as political framing: they are terms which purposely try to define their philosophies in the best possible light, while by definition attempting to describe their opposition in the worst possible light. "Pro-choice" implies that the alternative viewpoint is "anti-choice", while "pro-life" implies the alternative viewpoint is "pro-death" or "anti-life".[6] The Associated Press encourages journalists to use the terms "abortion rights" and "anti-abortion".[7]

Context

Free birth control correlates to teenage girls having a fewer pregnancies and fewer abortions. A 2014 New England Journal of Medicine study found such a link.  At the same time, a 2011 study by Center for Reproductive Rights and Ibis Reproductive Health also found that states with more abortion restrictions have higher rates of maternal death, higher rates of uninsured pregnant women, higher rates of infant and child deaths, higher rates of teen drug and alcohol abuse, and lower rates of cancer screening.[8]

According to a 2017 report from the Center for Reproductive Rights and Ibis Reproductive Health, states that tried to pass additional constraints on a women's ability to access legal abortions had fewer policies supporting women's health, maternal health and children's health.  These states also tended to resist expanding Medicaid, family leave, medical leave, and sex education in public schools.[9] According to Megan Donovan, a senior policy manager at the Guttmacher Institute, states have legislation seeking to protect a woman's right to access abortion services have the lowest rates of infant mortality in the United States.[9]

Poor women in the United States had problems paying for menstrual pads and tampons in 2018 and 2019. Almost two-thirds of American women could not pay for them. These were not available through the federal Women, Infants, and Children Program (WIC).[10] Lack of menstrual supplies has an economic impact on poor women.  A study in St. Louis found that 36% had to miss days of work because they lacked adequate menstrual hygiene supplies during their period.  This was on top of the fact that many had other menstrual issues including bleeding, cramps and other menstrual induced health issues.[10] This state was one of a majority that taxed essential hygiene products like tampons and menstrual pads as of November 2018.[11][12][13][14]

History

Legislative history

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Maryland, New Mexico, North Carolina and Oregon made reforms to their abortion laws, with most of these states providing more detailed medical guidance on when therapeutic abortions could be performed.[15] In 1969, the Legislature passed a law that made it a felony for someone to provide a woman with an abortion unless it was needed to save a woman's life, or because her pregnancy was a result of rape or incest.[16] The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in 1973's Roe v. Wade barred states from regulating abortion in the first trimester;[15] consequently, New Mexico's 1969 abortion law became unenforceable.[16] In March 2019, the Legislature considered a bill that would have repealed the 1969 law. While the New Mexico House of Representatives passed the repeal bill, it was defeated in the State Senate by a vote of 24–18.[16]

In 2017, Washington State, New Mexico, Illinois, Alaska, Maryland, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New Jersey allowed qualified non-physicians to prescribe drugs for medical abortions only.[17] New Mexico had few abortion restrictions in comparison to other states as of May 1, 2018. There are no waiting periods, no required parental consent, and no inability to use state funding for an abortion.[18]

Clinic history

Number of abortion clinics in New Mexico by year.

Between 1982 and 1992, the number of abortion clinics in the state decreased by six, going from 26 in 1982 to twenty in 1992.[19] In 2014, there were eleven facilities which provided abortions of which nine were abortion clinics.[20][18] In 2014, 91% of the counties in the state did not have an abortion clinic. That year, 48% of women in the state aged 15 – 44 lived in a county without an abortion clinic.[21] In March 2016, there were 6 Planned Parenthood clinics in the state.[22] In 2017, Planned Parenthood closed three clinics in the state.  This was done around their plans to try to consolidate reproductive services they offered in the New Mexico.[23] Later that year, there were three total Planned Parenthood clinics in the state. At the time, the population was 456,213 for women aged 15 – 49 of which two offered abortion services.[23]

Statistics

In the period between 1972 and 1974, there were zero recorded illegal abortion deaths in the state.[24] In 1990, 181,000 women in the state faced the risk of an unintended pregnancy.[19] Between 2011 and 2014, there was a 10% decline in the number of abortions performed in the state.[18] In 2013, among white women aged 15–19, there were  abortions 150, 20 abortions for black women aged 15–19, 370 abortions for Hispanic women aged 15–19, and 70 abortions for women of all other races.[25] In 2014, 51% of adults said in a poll by the Pew Research Center that abortion should be legal in all or most cases.[26] In 2017, the state had an infant mortality rate of 5.9 deaths per 1,000 live births.[9]

Number of reported abortions, abortion rate and percentage change in rate by geographic region and state in 1992, 1995 and 1996[27]

Census division and state	Number			Rate			% change 1992–1996
	1992	1995	1996	1992	1995	1996
US Total	1,528,930	1,363,690	1,365,730	25.9	22.9	22.9	–12
Mountain	69,600	63,390	67,020	21	17.9	18.6	–12
Arizona	20,600	18,120	19,310	24.1	19.1	19.8	–18
Colorado	19,880	15,690	18,310	23.6	18	20.9	–12
Idaho	1,710	1,500	1,600	7.2	5.8	6.1	–15
Montana	3,300	3,010	2,900	18.2	16.2	15.6	–14
Nevada	13,300	15,600	15,450	44.2	46.7	44.6	1
New Mexico	6,410	5,450	5,470	17.7	14.4	14.4	–19
Utah	3,940	3,740	3,700	9.3	8.1	7.8	–16
Wyoming	460	280	280	4.3	2.7	2.7	–37

Number, rate, and ratio of reported abortions, by reporting area of residence and occurrence and by percentage of abortions obtained by out-of-state residents, US CDC estimates

Location	Residence			Occurrence			% obtained by out-of-state residents	Year	Ref
	No.	Rate^	Ratio^^	No.	Rate^	Ratio^^
New Mexico	3,655	9.2	140	4,500	11.3	173	21	2014	[28]
New Mexico	3,502	8.9	142	4,573	11.6	185	27.0	2016	[29]
^number of abortions per 1,000 women aged 15–44; ^^number of abortions per 1,000 live births

Abortion financing

State Medicaid coverage of medically necessary abortion services. Navy blue: Medicaid covers medically necessary abortion for low-income women through legislation. Royal blue: Medicaid covers medically necessary abortions for low-income women under court order. Gray: Medicaid denies abortion coverage for low-income women except for cases of rape, incest, or life endangerment.

Seventeen states including New Mexico used their own funds to cover all or most "medically necessary" abortions sought by low-income women under Medicaid, thirteenof which are required by State court orders to do so.[30] In 2010, the state had 1,270 publicly funded abortions, of which were 0 federally funded and 1,270 were state funded.[31] Public funding was still available in May 2018.[18]

Abortion rights views and activities

Protests

Women from the state participated in marches supporting abortion rights as part of a #StoptheBans movement in May 2019.[32]

Views

Women in Film Executive Director Kirsten Schaffer said of Georgia and other states similar restrictive abortion bans passed in early 2019, "A woman's right to make choices about her own body is fundamental to her personal and professional well-being. [...] We support people who make the choice not to take their production to Georgia or take a job in Georgia because of the draconian anti-choice law. To that end, we've compiled a list of pro-choice states that offer meaningful tax rebates and production incentives, and encourage everyone to explore these alternatives: California, Colorado, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Washington."[33]

Anti-abortion views and activities

On December 6, 2007, Chad Altman and Sergio Baca were arrested for the arson of Dr. Curtis Boyd's clinic in Albuquerque. Baca's girlfriend had scheduled an appointment for an abortion at the clinic.[34][35]

Footnotes

1. According to the Supreme Court's decision in Roe v. Wade:

   (a) For the stage prior to approximately the end of the first trimester, the abortion decision and its effectuation must be left to the medical judgement of the pregnant woman's attending physician. (b) For the stage subsequent to approximately the end of the first trimester, the State, in promoting its interest in the health of the mother, may, if it chooses, regulate the abortion procedure in ways that are reasonably related to maternal health. (c) For the stage subsequent to viability, the State in promoting its interest in the potentiality of human life may, if it chooses, regulate, and even proscribe, abortion except where it is necessary, in appropriate medical judgement, for the preservation of the life or health of the mother.

   Likewise, Black's Law Dictionary defines abortion as "knowing destruction" or "intentional expulsion or removal".

References

1. Watson, Katie (20 Dec 2019). "Why We Should Stop Using the Term "Elective Abortion"". AMA Journal of Ethics. 20 (12): E1175-1180. doi:10.1001/amajethics.2018.1175. PMID 30585581.
2. Chamberlain, Pam; Hardisty, Jean (2007). "The Importance of the Political 'Framing' of Abortion". The Public Eye Magazine. 14 (1).
3. "The Roberts Court Takes on Abortion". New York Times. November 5, 2006. Retrieved January 18, 2008.
4. Brennan 'Dehumanizing the vulnerable' 2000
5. Getek, Kathryn; Cunningham, Mark (February 1996). "A Sheep in Wolf's Clothing – Language and the Abortion Debate". Princeton Progressive Review.
6. "Example of "anti-life" terminology" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-27. Retrieved 2011-11-16.
7. Goldstein, Norm, ed. The Associated Press Stylebook. Philadelphia: Basic Books, 2007.
8. Castillo, Stephanie (2014-10-03). "States With More Abortion Restrictions Hurt Women's Health, Increase Risk For Maternal Death". Medical Daily. Retrieved 2019-05-27.
9. "States pushing abortion bans have highest infant mortality rates". NBC News. Retrieved 2019-05-25.
10. Mundell, E.J. (January 16, 2019). "Two-Thirds of Poor U.S. Women Can't Afford Menstrual Pads, Tampons: Study". US News & World Report. Retrieved May 26, 2019.
11. Larimer, Sarah (January 8, 2016). "The 'tampon tax,' explained". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on December 11, 2016. Retrieved December 10, 2016.
12. Bowerman, Mary (July 25, 2016). "The 'tampon tax' and what it means for you". USA Today. Archived from the original on December 11, 2016. Retrieved December 10, 2016.
13. Hillin, Taryn. "These are the U.S. states that tax women for having periods". Splinter. Retrieved 2017-12-15.
14. "Election Results 2018: Nevada Ballot Questions 1-6". KNTV. Retrieved 2018-11-07.
15. Buell, Samuel (1991-01-01). "Criminal Abortion Revisited". New York University Law Review. 66: 1774–1831.
16. "New Mexico Senate upholds dormant ban on abortion". Las Cruces Sun-News. Retrieved 2019-05-28.
17. "Study: Abortions Are Safe When Performed By Nurse Practitioners, Physician Assistants, Certified Nurse Midwives". Retrieved 25 January 2017.
18. "State Facts About Abortion: New Mexico". Guttmacher Institute. 2016-01-26. Retrieved 2019-05-28.
19. Arndorfer, Elizabeth; Michael, Jodi; Moskowitz, Laura; Grant, Juli A.; Siebel, Liza (December 1998). A State-By-State Review of Abortion and Reproductive Rights. Diane Publishing. ISBN 9780788174810.
20. Gould, Rebecca Harrington, Skye. "The number of abortion clinics in the US has plunged in the last decade — here's how many are in each state". Business Insider. Retrieved 2019-05-23.
21. businessinsider (2018-08-04). "This is what could happen if Roe v. Wade fell". Business Insider (in Spanish). Retrieved 2019-05-24.
22. Bohatch, Emily. "27 states with the most Planned Parenthood clinics". thestate. Retrieved 2019-05-24.
23. "Here's Where Women Have Less Access to Planned Parenthood". Retrieved 2019-05-23.
24. Cates, Willard; Rochat, Roger (March 1976). "Illegal Abortions in the United States: 1972–1974". Family Planning Perspectives. 8 (2): 86. doi:10.2307/2133995. JSTOR 2133995. PMID 1269687.
25. "No. of abortions among women aged 15–19, by state of residence, 2013 by racial group". Guttmacher Data Center. Retrieved 2019-05-24.
26. "Views about abortion by state - Religion in America: U.S. Religious Data, Demographics and Statistics". Pew Research Center. Retrieved 2019-05-23.
27. "Abortion Incidence and Services in the United States, 1995-1996". Guttmacher Institute. 2005-06-15. Retrieved 2019-06-02.
28. Jatlaoui, Tara C. (2017). "Abortion Surveillance — United States, 2014". MMWR. Surveillance Summaries. 66 (24): 1–48. doi:10.15585/mmwr.ss6624a1. ISSN 1546-0738. PMID 29166366.
29. Jatlaoui, Tara C. (2019). "Abortion Surveillance — United States, 2016". MMWR. Surveillance Summaries. 68. doi:10.15585/mmwr.ss6811a1. ISSN 1546-0738.
30. Francis Roberta W. "Frequently Asked Questions". Equal Rights Amendment. Alice Paul Institute. Archived from the original on 2009-04-17. Retrieved 2009-09-13.
31. "Guttmacher Data Center". data.guttmacher.org. Retrieved 2019-05-24.
32. Bacon, John. "Abortion rights supporters' voices thunder at #StopTheBans rallies across the nation". USA Today. Retrieved 2019-05-25.
33. Low, Matt Donnelly,Gene Maddaus,Elaine; Donnelly, Matt; Maddaus, Gene; Low, Elaine (2019-05-28). "Netflix the Only Hollywood Studio to Speak Out in Attack Against Abortion Rights (Exclusive)". Variety. Retrieved 2019-06-02.
34. "Suspects In Abortion Clinic Fire Plead Not Guilty - Albuquerque News Story - KOAT Albuquerque". 2011-07-13. Archived from the original on 2011-07-13. Retrieved 2019-05-22.
35. "New Mexico: Did You Know? Archived 2011-06-22 at the Wayback Machine". NARAL Pro-Choice America. Archived from the original on June 22, 2011. Retrieved June 21, 2011.