U.S. Rep. Gabe Vasquez is once again putting abortion at the center of his campaign message, using a newly published Albuquerque Journal opinion column to mark the anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision and attack Republicans who support limits on abortion.
Vasquez, a far-left Democrat who represents New Mexico’s 2nd Congressional District, framed the overturning of Roe v. Wade as a national crisis and accused “MAGA extremists” of waging an ongoing campaign against abortion.
“On June 24, 2022, time stood still for many Americans,” Vasquez wrote, referring to the day the U.S. Supreme Court issued Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the decision that overturned Roe and returned abortion law to the states.
“Four years later, women are still paying the price,” he continued.
The column offers a clear look at where Vasquez stands on one of the most divisive issues in the country: unashamedly backing abortion up-to-birth. Rather than supporting even modest limits on abortion, Vasquez used the piece to call for broader federal protections and to back the Women’s Health Protection Act, a Democrat-backed proposal intended to establish unlimited abortion nationwide.
“I believe every woman deserves the freedom to make her own healthcare decisions in consultation with her doctor and guided by her own faith and values — not the government’s,” Vasquez wrote, although he, alongside many of his Democrat colleagues, likely has trouble defining what a “woman” is.
He also argued that abortion restrictions are not only about abortion, but about broader government control.
“This is not only an attack on women — it’s also a reminder that the government can take away anyone’s fundamental freedoms when power is placed in the wrong hands,” he wrote, although he is for a widespread government takeover of other fundamentals, such as gun rights and religious liberty.
For many, the op-ed reads as another example of Vasquez aligning himself with the national abortion lobby while trying to present the issue in softer language. He repeatedly referred to abortion as “healthcare,” “privacy,” “bodily autonomy,” and “reproductive freedom,” while attacking Republicans as extremists.
“MAGA extremists have continued their assault on women’s reproductive rights through the courts and Congress,” Vasquez claimed.
He specifically accused Republicans of blocking mailed mifepristone, targeting telehealth abortion, and trying to “put the government in control of women’s healthcare experiences.”
The comments come as New Mexico has already become one of the most permissive abortion states in the country. KFF listed New Mexico’s abortion policy as having “no gestational limits” as of April 2026, and other abortion access trackers similarly describe abortion as legal throughout pregnancy in the state.
New Mexico Democrats have also worked to block local governments from restricting abortion. In 2025, the New Mexico Supreme Court struck down local abortion restrictions in conservative communities such as Hobbs and Clovis, reinforcing the state’s broad abortion-access framework.
Yet Vasquez’s op-ed suggests that current law still does not go far enough. He wrote that he remains committed to supporting the Women’s Health Protection Act, which abortion-rights supporters describe as federal legislation to “re-establish a nationwide right to access abortion care,” which attacks federalist principles that his party has cherry-picked to pretend to support in other circumstances, but apparently not in this one.
“I remain committed to protecting reproductive freedom,” Vasquez wrote. “I will continue my support for the Women’s Health Protection Act, which would restore a woman’s right to make her own healthcare decisions and ensure healthcare providers can continue offering safe, effective healthcare options.”
Vasquez also argued that women should have access to abortion “when in a time of need.”
“Restrictions on abortion create chaos and uncertainty,” he wrote. “Women deserve the right to receive abortion care, access contraceptives and obtain emergency reproductive healthcare when in a time of need.”
The op-ed closed with a direct political call to action, with Vasquez pledging to “hold extreme MAGA Republicans accountable.”
“This fight is not over,” he wrote.
For New Mexico voters, the piece is a reminder that Vasquez is not running away from the abortion issue. He is leaning into it.
While many New Mexicans support protections for women in medical emergencies and cases of rape or incest, Vasquez’s column goes far beyond those narrow exceptions. He is backing a national abortion agenda at a time when New Mexico already allows abortion with virtually no state-level gestational limit (up-to-birth) with no protections whatsoever for mothers, babies, or doctors.
That contrast is likely to remain a major issue in the 2026 race, especially in a district that includes conservative, rural, and faith-driven communities across southern New Mexico. But Vasquez’s message is clear: he wants abortion kept front and center.