New Mexico Supreme Court Weighs Local Anti-Abortion Ordinances

The court is considering whether 19th-century federal law allows local governments to ban abortion, despite the state's permissive laws.

New Mexico's Supreme Court is considering whether local governments can ban abortion, despite the state's permissive laws, based on the 19th-century federal Comstock Act.
Four conservative counties and cities in New Mexico have passed local laws effectively banning abortion, arguing that the Comstock Act supersedes state law.
New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez argues that these local laws exceed the authority of local governments, violate the New Mexico Constitution's guarantees of equal protection and due process, and infringe on a woman's right to bodily autonomy.
New Mexico is one of seven states where abortion is legal up until birth, making it a refuge for women from states where abortion is banned or severely restricted.
New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham has signed a bill that protects access to abortion and transgender hormone treatments by preventing local governments from banning them.