New Mexico is a go-to state for women seeking abortions. A new court ruling helps it stay that way
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) The New Mexico Supreme Court on Thursday struck down abortion restrictions by conservative cities and counties, helping to ensure the state remains a go-to destination for people from other states with bans.
The unanimous opinion, in response to a request from state Attorney General Raúl Torrez, reinforces the states position as having some of the most liberal abortion laws in the country.
Attorneys representing the cities of Hobbs and Clovis and Lea and Roosevelt counties had argued that provisions of a federal anti-vice law known as the Comstock Act block courts from striking down local abortion ordinances.
But Justice C. Shannon Bacon, writing for the majority opinion, said state law precludes cities and counties from restricting abortion or regulating abortion clinics.
The ordinances violate this core precept and invade the Legislatures authority to regulate access to and provision of reproductive healthcare, she wrote. We hold the ordinances are preempted in their entirety.
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https://apnews.com/article/abortion-restrictions-struck-down-new-mexico-82a05423f7ddf8895664d1071c35a227