Leon Nall of Floyd speaks against House Bill 7, which would block municipalities and counties from outlawing abortion, today before the House Health and Human Services Committee. Luis Sánchez Saturno/The Santa Fe New Mexican

Molly McClain speaks today before the House Health and Human Services Committee about House Bill 7. The bill advanced 7-3 on a party-line vote. Luis Sánchez Saturno/The Santa Fe New Mexican

By ROBERT NOTT
The Santa Fe New Mexican

A bill that would prohibit municipalities and counties from outlawing abortion — an issue that helped shape last year’s gubernatorial election and likely will be among the most controversial matters considered by lawmakers this year — is moving along in the Legislature.

Members of the House Health & Human Services Committee voted Friday to approve House Bill 7, which would block public bodies from preventing access to reproductive or gender-affirming health care.

Among the medical services cited in the bill are abortion and measures to prevent pregnancy. The bill defines reproductive and gender-affirming health care as including “psychological, behavioral, surgical, pharmaceutical and medical care, services and supplies that relate to the human reproductive system.”

The legislation further ties the LGBTQ community’s desire to attain health care rights along with a woman’s right to access abortion services — a connection that has been under scrutiny in the wake of last year’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling overturning the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision.

One of the bill’s sponsors, Rep. Linda Serrato, D-Santa Fe, said health care services are already are challenging to obtain for women and members of the LGBTQ community.

The bill, which passed in the committee by a party-line 7-3 vote, will ensure local governments “are not adding fear on top of that,” Serrato told the committee members. 

The measure comes amid heated debate in Eastern New Mexico, where Hobbs, Clovis, Eunice and two counties — Lea and Roosevelt —   have adopted anti-abortion ordinances.

The procedure is legal in New Mexico. Two years ago, the Legislature repealed a 1969 statute that outlawed abortion, though it was not enforced after Roe v. Wade.

The municipalities and counties that passed the anti-abortion ordinances are using provisions of federal statutes that prohibit shipping or receiving abortion-inducing drugs and other related materials by mail or commercial carrier — measures that would make it difficult to open an abortion facility.

The issue also has drawn the attention of new Attorney General Raúl Torrez, who petitioned the New Mexico Supreme Court to intervene, arguing local governments’ ordinances violate the state constitution’s guarantees of equal protection and due process.

Those who spoke out against the bill Friday focused on the abortion right provision within it, saying it may be at odds with what local municipalities around the state want to do. “It takes away the rights of local governments,” one man said in opposition to the bill.

A woman testifying against the bill, Carla Sonntag, said thousands of people in New Mexico oppose the bill. She said it would be “forcing it [the right to abortion] on communities that may not like it. It may be what you feel is right, but not for them. That is not New Mexico.”

Other opponents to the bill offered prayers or Biblical passages in support of their arguments, contending life is sacred and should be honored from the start.

Republicans on the committee questioned Serrato about a provision giving the attorney general or a district attorney the right to initiate a civil lawsuit in district court if they feel a governmental body has acted to deny or prevent the legal right to obtain reproductive health care services. 

Government agencies found guilty of such actions would be fined $5,000, according to the bill.

“This is going to be lawsuit central,” Rep. Stefani Lord, R-Sandia Park, said of the provision.

Republican lawmakers also asked if anything in the bill would force medical providers who do not want to perform abortions to do so. Serrato said no.

Another woman testifying virtually said the legislation was critical. “People need access to affirming health care without any judgment,” she said.

Democrats on the committee said nothing about the bill and all seven voted for it. The three Republicans voted against.

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, a Democrat who supports abortion rights, made abortion care access one of her primary issues during the 2022 gubernatorial campaign. After winning re-election in November, she announced her plans to codify abortion rights in state statute.

Activists and supporters of the LGBTQ community around the country expressed concern before the ruling that it could have consequences on LGBTQ people if access to gender-affirming care rights are compromised or threatened.

Some LGBTQ members and supporters spoke in favor of HB 7 during Friday’s hearing, saying many transgender people have difficulty navigating the health care system. “Gender affirming care is life affirming care,” one woman said, noting — as did others — the high rates of suicide among LGBTQ members.