New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, a Democrat, has signed an executive order that designates a whopping $10 million towards creating a facility that offers abortions and more.
“The Department of Finance and Administration shall designate $10 million of the Executive’s capital allocation for the upcoming 2023 legislative session for the purpose of developing a new clinic that provides a full spectrum of patient-centered, community-informed reproductive healthcare, including abortion, in Dona Ana County,” the executive order states.
The order calls for the state’s Department of Health to “develop a detailed plan to leverage State resources to expand access to reproductive healthcare, including abortion, in underserved areas of the State” and to “assess the feasibility of the provision of medication abortion in public health clinics overseen by the Department.”
Lujan Grisham entered office in 2019 and is currently seeking re-election during the state’s 2022 gubernatorial contest.
“New Mexico was already the abortion capital of the United States, and now taxpayers are having to foot the bill for a clinic which will perform abortions up to the moment of birth for non-residents who come from other states around the country,” Mark Ronchetti, the Republican candidate challenging Lujan Grisham, said, according to a press release. “Using taxpayer dollars to enable and fund abortion up until the point of birth is not only out of line with New Mexican values, it is extreme.”
The state does not currently have any abortion restrictions, according to the Albuquerque Journal.
Ronchetti’s press release indicates that the Republican candidate has proposed restricting abortions to the first 15 weeks of pregnancy, with allowances for pregnancies involving rape or incest, or when the life of the pregnant woman is in jeopardy.
“As more states move to restrict and prohibit access to reproductive care, New Mexico will continue to not only protect access to abortion, but to expand and strengthen reproductive health care throughout the state,” Lujan Grisham said, according to a press release. “Today, I reaffirm my resolve to make sure that women and families in New Mexico – and beyond – are supported at every step of the way.”