Texas abortion provider moving to New Mexico

A Texas abortion provider announced on Wednesday that it would be moving its four clinics to the neighboring state of New Mexico in the wake of the Supreme Court’s ruling overturning Roe v. Wade.

The independent abortion provider, Whole Woman’s Health (WWH), said in a statement announcing the closure of its Texas clinics that it is seeking a clinic site in a border city of New Mexico to provide first- and second-trimester abortions.

The organization has been present in the Lone Star State for nearly 20 years and operated clinics in Austin, McAllen, Fort Worth and McKinney. 

They have since launched a GoFundMe to ask for support to relocate to New Mexico, following the high court’s ruling, including to “buy and renovate a building, relocate and hire staff, and set up licenses and certifications in New Mexico.”

A spokesperson for WWH told The Hill that they’re hoping to raise $750,000. As of 10 a.m. on Thursday, they have raised $127,010.

Sharing more information on their fundraiser page, the organization added that opening a “brick and mortar clinic site” in New Mexico, where they already offer virtual services, will allow them to provide first- and second-trimester abortions to people from Texas, Oklahoma, Arizona and other states where safe, legal abortion care is restricted.

According to WWH, New Mexico residents will also struggle with abortion access due to local clinics being inundated with out-of-state travelers.

They added that abortion is legally protected in New Mexico with no harmful restrictions that could “hinder our highly-trained staff from providing the compassionate, high-quality care” in its communities.

“WWH has served Texans for nearly 20 years, and our love for Texans runs deep. Even when the courts and the politicians have turned their backs on Texans, we never will,” Amy Hagstrom Miller, president and CEO of Whole Woman’s Health and the Whole Woman’s Health Alliance, said in a statement.

The Associated Press reported that clinics were shutting down abortion services in the nation’s second-largest state Saturday after the Texas Supreme Court blocked an order briefly allowing the procedure to resume in some cases.