By Bud Shaver,
Albuquerque, New Mexico — The death of Dr. Susan Robinson, a physician known for performing abortions later in pregnancy, is renewing attention on New Mexico’s role in the national abortion industry, particularly Albuquerque’s connection to one of the country’s most widely known facilities offering the procedure.
Robinson’s death was confirmed in a public statement by abortion provider Dr. Shelly Sella, who worked alongside Robinson providing third-trimester abortion services in both Wichita, Kansas, and Albuquerque, New Mexico.
“Dr. Susan Robinson died this morning, less than a year from her cancer diagnosis,” Sella wrote in a public post. “Susan was my friend and colleague in third trimester abortion care, both in Wichita and Albuquerque… Together, we helped create a model of abortion care that lives on in our mentees.”
Robinson was widely known within abortion advocacy circles and was part of a small group of physicians who continued performing abortions later in pregnancy after the 2009 killing of Kansas abortion provider George Tiller. Following Tiller’s death, only a limited number of facilities in the United States continued publicly advertising the procedure, with Albuquerque emerging as one of the locations most frequently referenced in national reporting.
(After George Tiller’s death in 2009, a small network of physicians continued performing abortions later in pregnancy, including providers who traveled to Albuquerque, New Mexico.)
According to statements from abortion providers themselves, Robinson and other physicians, including Sella, traveled from California to Albuquerque on a rotating basis to perform abortions later in pregnancy, helping sustain the practice at facilities such as Curtis Boyd’s Southwestern Women’s Options.
Only a small number of facilities in the United States publicly advertise abortions later in pregnancy, and Albuquerque has long been one of those locations.
Following the overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022, several states enacted abortion restrictions or bans. At the same time, New Mexico political leaders, including Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham, promoted policies expanding abortion access in the state, positioning New Mexico as a destination for patients traveling from states where abortion laws had changed.
The expansion of access, combined with the absence of common-sense restrictions on abortion procedures in New Mexico, has drawn increasing national attention to what Abortion Free New Mexico’s investigative reporting has identified as a growing pattern of “abortion tourism” into the state.
National journalists have frequently cited Curtis Boyd’s Southwestern Women’s Options when covering abortions later in pregnancy in the United States, particularly after the death of George Tiller. Boyd’s clinic became a focal point in reporting about where such procedures continued to be performed in the years that followed.
Curtis Boyd himself has been a prominent national figure in late-term abortion, practicing for decades and helping establish Albuquerque as a location where abortions later in pregnancy continued to be performed after Tiller’s death.
The clinic later drew additional scrutiny after Abortion Free New Mexico exposed the 2017 death of Keisha Atkins, a young woman who died following a late-term abortion procedure at Southwestern Women’s Options.
The case drew national attention and led to a civil lawsuit involving the clinic and medical providers connected to the procedure.
In the years that followed, Boyd sold Southwestern Women’s Options to the owner of Texas-based Alamo Women’s Clinic and later relocated to Florida, marking a significant transition for one of the most widely known facilities performing abortions later in pregnancy.
Tara Shaver, spokesperson for Abortion Free New Mexico, said Robinson’s passing highlights the broader history of the abortion industry’s concentration in New Mexico.
“Dr. Susan Robinson was part of a small but influential group of physicians who helped sustain the late-term abortion industry in America,” Shaver said.“Her connection to Albuquerque underscores how New Mexico has become a focal point for abortions performed late in pregnancy.”
Shaver noted that Abortion Free New Mexico has spent years documenting the growth of the abortion industry in the state through investigative reports, public records requests, and policy analysis.
“For nearly two decades, Abortion Free New Mexico leaders have been warning that New Mexico was becoming what many now describe as the late-term abortion capital of America,”Shaver said. “Through investigative reporting, public records research, and on-the-ground documentation, our work has helped bring national attention to the policies, providers, and practices that allowed this industry to expand in our state.”
According to the Guttmacher Institute’s provider survey, approximately 21,000 abortions occurred in New Mexico in 2023, with a significant number involving patients traveling from other states.
Shaver said Robinson’s passing may also prompt renewed questions about the future of late-term abortion providers operating in the United States and whether additional physicians will continue the practice in states like New Mexico.
“Dr. Robinson was part of a small network of physicians who ensured that abortions later in pregnancy continued in the United States after George Tiller’s death,” said Tara Shaver of Abortion Free New Mexico. “Her work is part of the larger story of how New Mexico became a national hub for these procedures. The public deserves transparency about that history and about the policies that made it possible.”
Abortion Free New Mexico says it will continue documenting abortion industry practices and public policy developments in the state throughinvestigative reporting, public records research, and community outreach.
The history of providers such as Tiller, Boyd, and Robinson — combined with New Mexico’s post-Roe policy landscape — continues to place Albuquerque at the center of national conversations about where abortions later in pregnancy are performed in the United States.
About Abortion Free New Mexico
Abortion Free New Mexico is a nonprofit organization dedicated to investigative research, public education, and peaceful outreach regarding abortion practices and policies in New Mexico.
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