By Bud Shaver,
Albuquerque, New Mexico — Abortion Free New Mexico (AFNM) criticized U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D) for failing to address documented abortion clinic inspection and patient-safety gaps in New Mexico, despite being the only member of the state’s federal delegation to respond to AFNM’s formal request for federal oversight review.
AFNM recently contacted New Mexico’s U.S. Senators and Representatives requesting federal review of a documented regulatory inconsistency: abortion clinics in New Mexico are not licensed as healthcare facilities and are not subject to routine facility-level health inspections, even though abortion is publicly described as “healthcare” and despite documented patient injuries, emergency transports, and agency confirmations.
Senator Heinrich issued a written response dated January 29, 2026. However, his letter did not address the oversight and inspection concerns raised, instead offering generalized commentary on abortion policy and unrelated civil-rights topics.
“Senator Heinrich responded — but he did not answer the question,” said Tara Shaver, spokeswoman for Abortion Free New Mexico. “We did not ask for policy talking points. We asked why abortion clinics are exempt from the same routine inspections that protect patients in every other healthcare setting. That question remains unanswered.”
To date, no other member of New Mexico’s federal delegation has responded to AFNM’s request.
At the state level, the only legislative action taken by New Mexico lawmakers has been Senate Bill 30, which advanced through its first committee on a party-line vote of six Democrats in favor and four Republicans opposed, after the bill’s sponsor, Senate Majority Leader Peter Wirth (D), admitted during testimony that the state’s abortion reporting law is being ignored, and Democratic members voted to eliminate the reporting requirement rather than enforce it.
“If our claims were wrong, transparency would settle it,” Shaver said. “SB-30 moves in the opposite direction by restricting public access to abortion data. Instead of enforcing existing reporting laws, lawmakers chose to erase them. That is not accountability — it is the removal of public oversight.”
Organizations including Planned Parenthood have testified in support of limiting public reporting and reducing oversight related to abortion in New Mexico. That lack of transparency does not benefit women — it benefits providers and the abortion industry.
When injuries occur, accountability matters. In every other regulated sector — whether healthcare, food service, or any licensed business — facilities that injure or endanger people are investigated and, when necessary, shut down. Abortion facilities should not be exempt from those same expectations.
Abortion Free New Mexico has documented more than 50 abortion-related injuries, including a patient death, using public records obtained from state agencies. Transparency protects patients. Exemptions protect providers.
Shaver emphasized that the issue before lawmakers is not ideology, but whether healthcare oversight standards are being applied consistently.
“Healthcare regulation depends on licensing, inspections, and enforcement,” Shaver said. “In New Mexico, abortion clinics are publicly framed as healthcare providers while being exempted from the very systems that define healthcare oversight. That contradiction has not been explained or justified.”
AFNM’s public-records documentation shows that abortion clinics in New Mexico:
- Are not licensed as healthcare facilities
- Are not subject to routine health inspections
- Operate without a consistent enforcement mechanism
- Continue operating despite documented injuries and emergency transports
“If abortion is healthcare, it should be regulated like healthcare,” Shaver added. “Patients should not lose basic safety protections because a procedure is politically protected. Transparency and inspections would either confirm compliance — or reveal problems that need to be addressed.”
Abortion Free New Mexico is calling on Senator Heinrich and the rest of New Mexico’s federal delegation to publicly state whether abortion clinics should be subject to routine health inspections — or to explain why abortion should remain exempt from the safeguards applied to every other area of medicine.
Abortion Free New Mexico is calling on Senator Heinrich and the rest of New Mexico’s federal delegation to publicly state whether abortion clinics should be subject to routine health inspections — or to explain why abortion should remain exempt from the safeguards applied to every other area of medicine.
🔗 Lack of Abortion Clinic Oversight — Documentation
🔗 SB 30: Elimination of Abortion Reporting Requirements
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