Abortion tourism explodes in NM as out-of-staters drive huge increase: New study

According to numbers released by the pro-abortion Guttmacher Institute’s Monthly Abortion Provision Survey, New Mexico saw roughly 20,970 abortions in the state, an approximated 370 percent increase from 2019, which saw 4,470, and an increase of 257 percent from 2020, which saw around 5,880. 

Of those nearly 21,000 New Mexico abortions, 14,550 of them were from out-of-state (69 percent), meaning 6,420 (38 percent) abortions were performed on in-state residents. In comparison to the Institute’s 2020 numbers, there were only 2,260 abortion tourists that year, an increase of 544 percent in just three years.

The institute notes, “Estimates include data on procedural and medication abortions provided at brick-and-mortar health facilities (such as clinics or doctor’s offices), as well as medication abortions provided via telehealth and virtual providers.”

In just four years, the state has seen an approximate increase of 16,500 abortions annually. On average, New Mexico saw around 1,758 abortions performed each month, or around 59 per day, mostly from out-of-state.

New Mexico saw the second-highest percentage of increase in abortions, being beaten only by Wyoming, which had a 433 percent increase since 2020. In 2021, Democrats in the state Legislature passed a bill legalizing abortion up to birth for any reason, which pro-abortion Democrat Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham gleefully signed.

Nationwide, the Guttmacher Institute notes that 1,026,690 were performed in 2022, an increase of 11 percent since 2019, which saw 916,460 abortions.

California performed the most abortions, with around 178,420 last year; New York came in second with 131,440; Illinois ranked third with 90,790; Florida ranked fourth with 86340; and New Jersey ranked fifth with 58,420. New Mexico had the 16th-highest number of babies killed in abortion, per the report.

Another finding from the report was the amount of medication abortions committed across the country. “New Guttmacher Institute research from the Monthly Abortion Provision Study shows that there were approximately 642,700 medication abortions in the United States in 2023, accounting for 63% of all abortions in the formal health care system. This is an increase from 2020, when medication abortions accounted for 53% of all abortions,” wrote the leftist pro-abortion group. However, a state-by-state medication abortion breakdown was not available.

Pro-life assistant professor Dr. Michael J. New of the Catholic University of America notes, “I would encourage pro-lifers to consider these new data with some degree of skepticism. The data comes from the Guttmacher Institute’s Monthly Abortion Provision Survey. This is different from Guttmacher’s Abortion Provider Census, which is conducted every three years. By Guttmacher’s own admission, the calculations for the Monthly Abortion Provision Survey come from ‘a slimmer portfolio of data’ and are designed to produce faster calculations on the incidence of abortion. Given that, the 2023 abortion estimates may not be as reliable as Guttmacher’s previous annual abortion estimates.”

“Even though these new data indicate that the incidence of abortion has increased since the Dobbs decision, there is still very strong statistical evidence that newly enacted pro-life laws are preventing abortions and [saving] lives. Three separate analyses of Texas birth data have found that the Texas Heartbeat Act saved over 1,000 lives a month. Also, a study published by the Institute for Labor Economics saw increased birth rates in many states that enforced strong pro-life laws shortly after the Dobbs decision. Enacting strong legal protections for preborn children is still a worthwhile policy goal for pro-lifers,” continues New.