Abortion Free New Mexico Warns of Escalating Public Safety Crisis as Abortion Tourism Surges and State Leaders Refuse Oversight

By Bud Shaver,

​Albuquerque, New Mexico — Abortion Free New Mexico (AFNM) is sounding the alarm as abortion tourism into New Mexico reaches unprecedented levels, driven in large part by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and other state leaders who have aggressively expanded abortion access while dismantling safeguards, oversight, and accountability.

As a result, New Mexico has become a national destination for unregulated, high-volume abortions, drawing women and minors from across the country—often without parental knowledge, without medical transparency, and without any meaningful state monitoring to ensure patient safety.

A Crisis of Oversight

New Mexico is now the only state in the region where abortion facilities:

• Receive no regular health or safety inspections
• Operate with no state licensing requirements
• Are not required to report abortion complications, minors served, or follow-up care

This regulatory vacuum has created what Abortion Free New Mexico describes as a public safety and human rights crisis.

More Than 50 Documented Abortion Injuries — Including One Death

Since 2010, Abortion Free New Mexico has documented more than 50 abortion-related injuries, including one confirmed patient death, using 911 records, eyewitness testimony, and confidential informants.

Documented injuries include:

• Hemorrhage requiring emergency transport
• Uterine perforation
• Respiratory distress under sedation
• Sepsis
• Incomplete abortions requiring emergency surgery
• A fatal late-term abortion complication

The most recent documented abortion-related injury occurred on September 14, 2025, involving a Texas woman injured at a New Mexico Planned Parenthood facility.

• Details of that incident are available here: https://www.abortionfreenm.com/news/state-of-emergency-texas-woman-injured-at-new-mexico-planned-parenthood

A full list of documented cases and highlights is available at:
https://www.abortionfreenm.com/abortion-risks.html

AFNM emphasizes that these cases represent only the injuries that can be independently verified, as New Mexico collects no official data on abortion complications.

Minors Receiving Abortions Without Parental Notification

New Mexico law allows minors from any state to undergo abortions—including late-term procedures--without parental notification or involvement.

Combined with abortion tourism, this policy has resulted in:

• Transport of minors across state lines
• Medical procedures performed in secrecy
• No legal, medical, or ethical accountability
• No mandatory reporting of potential sexual abuse

AFNM Calls for Immediate Action

​Abortion Free New Mexico is calling for:

• A federal investigation into New Mexico’s abortion industry
• Congressional review of interstate abortion trafficking
• Mandatory parental involvement protections
• National abortion complication reporting requirements
• Mandatory licensing and inspections of abortion facilities
• Criminal investigations of facilities that endanger women or minors

Tara Shaver, spokeswoman for Abortion Free New Mexico, issued the following statement:

New Mexico has become the nation’s unregulated abortion haven, and the result has been a trail of injured women, exploited minors, and a state government that refuses to acknowledge the crisis it created. Abortion tourism is not compassion—it’s a pipeline funneling vulnerable women and girls into facilities that operate without oversight, without inspections, and without consequences. New Mexicans deserve better, and the women brought here from across the country deserve protection, not political exploitation.”

She added:

New Mexico has become a magnet for dangerous, unregulated abortion practices—because the system was intentionally built that way. Women are being injured, trafficked across state lines, and left with life-threatening complications while the clinics responsible face zero accountability. This is a political crisis, a medical crisis, and a human rights crisis wrapped into one.”

FULL SUMMARY OF FINDINGS
ABORTION FREE NEW MEXICO — ABORTION TOURISM & SAFETY CRISIS DATA SHEET.

​I. Abortion Tourism Surge

• New Mexico clinics report 70%+ of patients from out of state.
• Women—including minors—are flown or driven into New Mexico for abortions because:
  • No parental consent laws
  • No safety standards
  • No reporting requirements
  • No oversight of travel, housing, or follow-up care

This has created a cross-country abortion pipeline with zero accountability.

II. National Abortion Travel Networks Using New Mexico

Publicly documented networks directing women and minors into NM include:

• The National Abortion Federation
• Indigenous Women Rising
• Planned Parenthood Federation of America
• The Brigid Alliance
• Multiple abortion funds coordinating multi-state travel

III. State Oversight: Nonexistent

New Mexico provides less oversight to abortion facilities than to nail salons, a tattoo parlor, veterinarian office, or restaurant kitchen.  

The state imposes:
❌ No inspections
❌ No facility licensing
❌ No standards of care
❌ No complication reporting
❌ No parental notification
❌ No tracking of minors
❌ No consequences for botched abortions

​New Mexico is an intentional sanctuary for unregulated abortion providers.

IV. 50+ Documented Abortion Injuries (2010–Present)

These include:

• Catastrophic bleeding
• Uterine perforation
• Sepsis
• Respiratory distress
• Failed abortions requiring emergency surgery
• One patient death

All verified through:

• 911 emergency records
• Insider information
• Eyewitness testimony

View the full list and injury summaries:
https://www.abortionfreenm.com/abortion-risks.html

Not one injury resulted in a state inspection.

V. Minors in New Mexico Abortion Clinics

New Mexico is a national destination for hiding abortions from parents.

The state allows AND PROMOTES:

• Abortions on minors of any age
• No parental notification
• No consent
• No reporting of sexual abuse
• No verification of who brings a minor across state lines
• No follow-up care requirements

​This is a legal black hole that endangers children and conceals abuse.

VI. How State Leaders Fuel the Crisis

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and key state leaders have:

• Removed barriers to abortion at every stage.
• Publicly encouraged out-of-state abortion travel.
• Funded abortion clinic infrastructure.
• Blocked local governments from enacting safety ordinances.
• Refused to investigate any abortion-related injury or death.

​
VII. AFNM Recommendations 
​

• Federal investigation into New Mexico’s abortion industry
• Congressional review of interstate abortion trafficking
• Mandatory parental involvement protections
• National complication reporting requirements
• Mandatory licensing & inspection
• Criminal investigation of facilities that endanger women or minors

Southwestern Women’s Options, UNM, Planned Parenthood, and Whole Woman’s Health operate in New Mexico without a single state inspection.
Women have been injured- with one confirmed patient DEATH, minors have been transported, and leaders like Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham pretend nothing is happening.
​
This is a manufactured crisis—and we’re exposing every part of it.”
— Tara Shaver, Abortion Free New Mexico