State-supported Las Cruces abortion clinic still in planning phase, leaders say

Mar. 23—Advocates pushing to build or buy a new facility to provide abortion services in the Las Cruces area say they are getting closer to making the clinic a reality.

Nearly two years after Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed an executive order allocating $10 million for the project, however, a site has not been selected.

Leaders from the groups involved — Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains, Bold Futures, Strong Families New Mexico and the University of New Mexico's Health Sciences Center — say they are holding regular meetings to find ways to open, operate and fund the facility.

"We are getting into the meat and potatoes of finding a space, finding a property, getting into the design mode," said Charlene Bencomo, executive director of Bold Futures.

Representatives from the groups driving the project forward have spent the last year "getting people to a place of agreement of what we want to create — and now it's time to build it," she said.

Still, there is no real timeline for building or buying a space to set up the clinic, said Dr. Eve Espey, chairperson of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the UNM School of Medicine in Albuquerque.

"We have not bought anything. We haven't broken ground. But we really hope to accelerate the next steps of the process in order to expedite the care we would provide, the care we want," she said.

In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe v. Wade in 2022, Lujan Grisham pledged $10 million for a reproductive health clinic in Doña Ana County that includes abortion services.

Noting New Mexico was already seeing an influx of patients from states where abortions were restricted and expecting further limitations on access nationwide, she said at the time the goal was "to build it and they will come."

Indeed, as the number of abortion providers in the state has increased in the last couple of years, so has the number of people seeking services — in particular, those from out of state.

New Mexico Department of Health data shows a total of 14 abortion providers are operating in the state, including several telehealth providers that prescribe abortion pills. Many in-person clinics also offer only medication abortion, which is considered effective up to around 11 weeks of gestation. At least six clinics in the state provide a full range services, including surgical procedures — an increase from just three clinics that offered surgical abortion in 2022.

Most of the providers are concentrated in state's largest city, and all but one clinic offering surgical procedures is in Albuquerque. There are now two clinics in Las Cruces, including one that offers surgical abortion up to 16 weeks.

"There are more providers [and] there's more care; we've all adjusted to make sure appointments are available for patients accessing care," Espey said.

Data collected by the nonprofit Guttmacher Institute shows the estimated number of abortions performed in the state had more than tripled between the first six months of 2020 and the same period in 2023, the biggest increase seen across the nation. There were about 9,420 abortions performed in the state between January and June of 2023, the institute found.

It noted a surge in patients traveling across state lines to access services.

"This surge in travel has largely been driven by post — Roe v. Wade abortion bans and restrictions," the report said.

Bencomo, who grew up in Doña Ana County, said "access to health care in general has been lacking for decades" in the Southern New Mexico community. Choosing a site close to Texas, where most abortions are now illegal, was part of the plan from the start.

"I don't think 'crisis' is too exaggerated to describe what is going on with reproductive health in our country and certainly in Texas," Espey said.

While the $10 million will pay for initial startup costs, organizers said they will have to concentrate on fundraising to keep operations going.

Espey said that will "always be a challenge."

Adriann Barboa, policy director for Strong Families New Mexico, said the four groups will work together to build a budget and create a fundraising plan.

She said many New Mexicans living in rural parts of the state do not have access to basic reproductive health and related care. The new facility will provide these services, she said.

Noting the Lujan Grisham administration has "led the way to make sure we have safe, quality care for a person accessing resources in pregnancy care and abortion," she said the new facility could serve as "a beacon of hope and light for the state and the whole country."