Austin-based Whole Woman’s Health began winding down operations in Texas after the Texas Supreme Court’s ruling Friday forced an end to abortion in that state. Now, the provider wants to establish a new clinic in a New Mexico town near the state line to provide first- and second-trimester abortions. Whole Woman’s Health CEO Amy Hagstrom said between 30 percent and 40 percent of recent patients seeking services at her Minnesota clinic are from Texas. “There’s no reason to have these ‘two different Americas’ that have resulted in some people having access to safe, compassionate abortion care legally in their communities. And other people have to travel hundreds of miles,” Hagstrom Miller said. “New Mexico is a safe state. It’s a state that has consistently recognized abortion care as essential medical care. It’s protected. There are no restrictions or bans like we’ve experienced in Texas.” New Mexico, home to a Democratic-led legislature and governor, recently took an extra step to protect providers and patients from out-of-state prosecution. It is likely to continue to face a steady influx of abortion-seekers from neighboring states with more restrictive abortion laws. Michael Maslanka, an associate professor of law at UNT Dallas, said the Texas law that existed in 1925 criminalizing abortion is now in place because of the state’s highest court’s most recent ruling. A new hearing is set for July 12. “It’s a game of inches, but we know the result,” Maslanka said. “It’s a game of inches now, but once the trigger law goes into effect, it’s game over. Game over. Abortion will be banned in Texas, period.” Whole Woman’s Health has launched a fundraising effort to help with the cost of moving equipment and supplies from Texas to New Mexico and to purchase a building that will serve as its new home. Kimberlyn Schwartz with Texas Right to Life, the state’s largest and oldest anti-abortion organization, said there are programs currently in place to help pregnant women and families. Schwartz pointed to the Alternatives to Abortion program, a state-funded program that began in 2005. According to Texas Health and Human Services, the program promotes childbirth and provides support services to pregnant women and their families, adoptive parents and parents who have experienced miscarriage or loss of a child. “Maybe you just had the baby and are looking for help with rent or baby clothes.” Schwartz said. “Can you get job skills training or education guidance if you’re trying to figure out what are the next steps in life? How can I provide for that child and push for those goals and those opportunities?” Officials at Mississippi’s only abortion clinic also have plans to relocate to southern New Mexico, and San Francisco-based telehealth provider Choix announced Wednesday that it is now licensed in New Mexico and plans to serve all states where it remains abortion care legal by the end of 2023; New Mexico lawmakers last year repealed a dormant 1969 statute that outlawed most abortion procedures as felonies, ensuring access to abortion even after a federal court struck down the guarantees. The state’s largest city, Albuquerque, is home to one of the few independent clinics in the country that perform third-trimester abortions without conditions. An abortion clinic in Santa Teresa, New Mexico, is just a mile (1.6 kilometers) from the Texas state line near El Paso.
