How to Find a Provider/Abortion Care
If you have a trusting relationship with a primary care or reproductive health provider, you may start by asking them if they offer medication abortion. If they do not, your provider may be able to suggest a trusted colleague in your area.
Not everywhere that offers medical services will provide abortion care.
If you don’t have room to ask about an abortion where you normally seek healthcare, there are trusted online resources that can help you find a vetted abortion provider in the region.
Some well-established and trusted reproductive healthcare clinics that offer pregnancy testing, abortion counseling, and abortion services in our state are the University of New Mexico Center for Reproductive Health, Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains, and Southwestern Women’s Options.
While clinics/providers are primarily located in urban areas like Albuquerque, the overturn of Roe v Wade has led to clinics/providers moving to other parts of the state. To find a clinic/provider, both online and hotline directories are available. The availability of resources and services offered will vary from clinic to clinic.
For more on legitimate online and hotline resources, check out the Resources Page.
BEWARE: In New Mexico, there are also Crisis Pregnancy Centers, run by anti-abortion activists, that exist to keep people from getting an abortion. While these centers often offer free resources like pregnancy tests, diapers, and formula, they are not healthcare providers and do not offer medical care.
Do I need permission from the other person involved in pregnancy or anybody else to have an abortion?
NO.
Privacy/Permissions for Your Abortion
To get an abortion in New Mexico, you do not need to notify or get permission from anyone, not even the person with whom sex* resulted in a pregnancy.
The decision about having an abortion is entirely up to you. It is also your decision who, if anyone, to have present for your abortion and who may support you afterwards.
* We acknowledge that people become pregnant from consensual sex and non-consensual sexual violence. In this guide, we refer to the sex act that resulted in a pregnancy as sex.
Abortion and Young People’s Rights
In New Mexico, people over the age of 13 are legally protected in seeking abortion, contraception, and mental/behavioral healthcare in a confidential setting and without parental notification or consent.
In New Mexico, if you are a minor over the age of 13, you have the right to get an abortion without approval from a parent/guardian. Our state has no requirements for parents or guardians to be notified or present for your abortion.
Note: Adults in New Mexico, including healthcare providers and staff, are obliged to follow mandatory reporting laws related to minors having sex* with adults or experiencing sexual violence before they reach legal age of consent. In New Mexico, 17 is the legal age of consent.
Safety and Security at Abortion Clinics
If you seek care at an abortion clinic, there is a strong likelihood that anti-abortion activists will be protesting outside. Protestors are generally not allowed on clinic property, but are allowed on public sidewalks. This means the protestors can and likely will be very close to the parking lots and entryways of abortion clinics. It is illegal for protestors to block access to clinics; they are not allowed to intentionally get in the way of you or your car. Many clinics suggest avoiding engagement with protestors, and there may be patient escorts available to support you as you enter the clinic.
While the activities of protestors are legally limited, that doesn’t mean that the protestors won’t deliberately break the law and try to keep patients from getting their abortion. Anti-abortion activists have made clear that their protests are designed to harass and scare those seeking abortion.
Abortion clinics have well-established and practiced security plans to keep patients and their staff safe.
MEDICAL AND SICK LEAVE FOR ABORTION CARE
Medical and sick leave policies vary by employers and educational settings.
For people employed in NM, the Healthy Workplaces Act is a state law for employees of any size business to be able to take paid sick leave.
The Healthy Workplaces Act goes into effect July 2022 and will enable employees to earn sick leave incrementally that can be used to care for themselves.
Federal leave allows for time to be taken for a “serious” health issue, but it is not paid time off and must be requested in advance through the employer.
Depending on your unique circumstances, you may be able to miss a short period of work or school by saying you were out for a healthcare appointment or out sick, without sharing details you might want to keep private.
A clinic or provider can give you a note related to missing work, school, or other obligations, if having documentation related to being out from other responsibilities is helpful. The clinic or provider should be able to do so in a way that doesn’t disclose the private details or medical reasons related to your absence. If you are particularly concerned about keeping the reason for your absence private, you can ask that the note excusing your absence be kept more general.
Additional Supports
When navigating your own path to getting an abortion, you may want or need support of different kinds.
If you need help in paying for your abortion, getting to NM for care, getting care in the language you speak, or have other needs, there may be support available. You can find many of these sources of support in our Trusted Resources section of the guide.
In other sections of this guide, you can find more information on paying for an abortion and abortion funds.
If you want somewhere to turn for emotional support or to talk about what you are going through, find more here.
Accessing abortion can be complex. The dynamics that almost always make getting healthcare frustrating can be even trickier to navigate because of the stigma surrounding abortion.