The map published at AustinChronical.com and provided courtesy of Whole Woman’s Health (WWH) – the largest abortion provider in Texas – says it all. WWH is closing its four clinics in Texas and moving to Lea County.
Although WWH has not announced the name of the city where it plans to move, the organization has said that it is coming to a “southeast New Mexico town bordering Texas”, and the map strongly suggests that this town is Hobbs.
According to the Austin Chronicle article, nearly 3,000 donors have provided $250,000 to cover costs of the move that will total about $750.000. More funds are obviously necessary.
WWH is in the process of closing its four Texas clinics, packing medical records and equipment. The timeline for opening the new clinic in New Mexico is still unknown.
WWH founder Amy Hagstrom Miller is far from giving up the fight to provide safe and legal abortions, and New Mexico being a “haven” state allows the option.
Speaking of current anti-abortion legislation in Texas Hagstrom Miller said, “You take away safe abortion and you take away the option to travel for safe abortion, guess what? People are going to have to carry pregnancies. … This is not abstract at all for our clinic staff. They’re the folks who are looking patients in the face and seeing their anguish.”
Right now WWH offers virtual services in New Mexico, including mailed abortion pills. Soon a brick-and-mortar clinic will be added. The goal is to find a building which can be converted into a clinic rather than to purpose build from the ground up.
The loss of revenue resulting from the closure of the organization’s four Texas clinics is a big problem. However, Hagstrom Miller is confident that the organization will recoup some of its losses through the sale of the two clinic buildings it owns in Texas. “They’ll need every cent they can get, because the demand for a New Mexico clinic will be great,” states the Austin Chronicle.
The WWH clinic in Lea County will provide care where it is legal. Not only will the clinic provide care for New Mexicans but also for Texas women, as well as for women from other states where abortion is problematic. Naturally, this will provide a boom for many local businesses, as well. People traveling from a distance need a place to stay and food to eat. It’s a simple fact, abortion tourism will filter more money into the local economy.
WWH has instituted a Wayfinder program to help abortion providers only licensed in Texas attain licenses in other states where abortion is legal and to help them find “support from a federal or state governments to relocate to haven states.” Wayfinder is also helping providers licensed in New Mexico to offer virtual appointments while physically in another haven state.” According to Hagstrom Miller, these issues are a major concern for both clinics and individuals as a result of the Supreme Court overruling of Roe v Wade.
The anti-abortion movement in the US is strong right now. New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham is committed to protecting reproductive health care in New Mexico, not only for the families of New Mexico but also for families from other states where abortion is no longer accessible.
In addition to helping New Mexican women, Lea County may become a major center to satisfy the needs of people whose home states have made abortion illegal. The losses for Texas and other anti-abortion states may prove to be a major gain for Lea County.
