With the goal of better educating the public about abortion and reproductive health care options in New Mexico, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s administration has set up a hotline – The New Mexico Reproductive Health Hotline – at (833) 767-3776.
Hours of operation are 7:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m., Mountain Standard Time (MST), Monday – Friday and 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. MST, Saturday and Sunday.
According to a spokesperson from the governor’s office, although still being built out, the hotline has been “live” for over a week, and “existing resources” are being used to pay for it.
Hotline Staff
Staffed by registered nurses from the New Mexico Department of Health, information is provided about access to abortion clinics, transportation, birth control, family planning, prevention and testing of sexually transmitted diseases – reproductive health assistance of all kinds. The governor’s office emphatically confirms that hotline callers’ information is shared with no one.
About those who staff the call center, Madison Schaeffer, a hotline spokeswoman for the New Mexico Department of Health said, “They’re really experienced in terms of helping New Mexicans, you know, access health resources and doing health assessments over the phone.” Schaeffer noted that the hotline is reaching farther than New Mexico. “They have received calls from across New Mexico, but also from people in Texas, and even as far as Tennessee.” … “We can meet somebody’s needs immediately and tell them ‘we’ve got appointments next week here and we can get you in’.”
New Mexico a Hotspot for Legal Abortions
New Mexico is emerging as a hotspot for legal abortions. The quest to seek an abortion in New Mexico is “…driven largely by residents from Texas and other states that have enacted abortion bans,” states a KRDO AM FM TV article.
Information about the hotline provided at the New Mexico Department of Health’s website states, “Help is available for people of all genders and ages. We can help people from any state. You will not be asked any information about citizenship. Multiple languages are available, including Spanish.”
11,000 Abortions in New Mexico in 2022
New Mexico state data confirms that 11,000 abortions took place statewide in 2022. The figure is more than double the 4,900 that were reported in 2021. To date in 2023, approximately 5,300 abortions have been performed in the state.
Currently, New Mexico has 19 abortion providers. “Six of those providers offer surgical abortions, with the rest providing medical abortions,” reports ABC news.
With the United States Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe vs. Wade one year ago, Gov. Lujan Grisham stresses the fact that abortion is legal in New Mexico. The governor sees the hotline as a means of educating the public – not only New Mexicans but also people from other states – that New Mexico is open for abortion.
Governor Hopes Hotline Will Attract Providers to Locate in New Mexico
Gov. Lujan Grisham perceives that in addition to serving as a reproductive healthcare resource, the hotline may attract new businesses to locate in the state. The governor is quoted by ABC News as saying that the hotline “…could end up convincing more out-of-state providers to relocate to New Mexico.”
The issue of abortion providers relocating to the state is a big issue for some southeastern New Mexico cities and counties. Hobbs, Eunice and Lea County, as well as Clovis and Roosevelt County government officials have passed local anti-abortion ordinances with the aim of preventing healthcare clinics from setting up. However, the ordinances are no longer in effect.
On March 31 the New Mexico Supreme Court temporarily ordered that the ordinances enacted by four southeastern New Mexico jurisdictions “…shall have no effect until further order of the court.” Eunice’s ordinance was not covered by the order. New Mexico also passed a recent law which invalidates any attempts to restrict someone’s right to an abortion in the state, further gutting these local ordinances.
Some area residents like Natalie Smith of Hobbs see abortion-limiting ordinances as a detriment to the community. Smith, a member of the Lea County Progressive Club, told the Lea County Tribune that the “quality of life for our community will improve” with access to “reproductive health care and gender-affirming services.”
The hotline in and of itself has nothing to do with current legal arguments about access to reproductive healthcare in the state of New Mexico. It is simply a resource center. “At the end of the day, we’re here to help people access resources. We are a health care resource,” says Schaeffer.
