By Sarah Fortinsky - 08/11/24

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced last Sunday an initiative to invite Texas doctors to consider relocating to her neighboring state of New Mexico, in response to Texas’s “draconian abortion ban.”

The governor launched a direct appeal to Texas health care providers, running a full-page ad in five major Texas newspapers last Sunday. The ads contained an “open letter” to “Texas healthcare providers” telling them that they are welcome in New Mexico to practice medicine without restrictions.

“I know that legal restrictions on healthcare in Texas have created a heavy burden for medical practitioners –– especially those of you now barred by law from providing the full spectrum of reproductive healthcare. It must be distressing that a draconian abortion ban has restricted your right to practice and turned it into a political weapon,” Lujan Grisham wrote in the open letter.

“I certainly respect those of you who remain committed to caring for patients in Texas, but I also invite those of you who can no longer tolerate these restrictions to consider practicing next door in New Mexico,” she added.

Lujan Grisham said her state was “taking steps” to make sure New Mexico does not follow in Texas’s footsteps in passing restrictive abortion laws.

“You have my word: I will never interfere with the fundamental right of health workers to care for their patients in New Mexico,” she wrote at the end of the letter. “Whether you are a nurse, a resident, a physician assistant, or a doctor, we cordially and enthusiastically invite you to the Land of Enchantment, where you are free to care for your patients.”

Texas has one of the most restrictive abortion laws in the country, banning the practice in almost all circumstances. Private citizens may sue health care providers and those who help women who seek abortions at approximately six weeks. Texas is one of 22 states in the country with abortion bans or restrictions that are harsher than the standard set by Roe v. Wade, which was overturned in 2022.

Lujan Grisham’s letter is part of a larger initiative called the “Free to Provide” campaign. In July, the effort was behind six billboards placed around the Houston Medical Center that said, “Come to New Mexico where you are free to provide.”

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s press secretary, Andrew Mahaleris, responded to the initiative in a statement to CNN.

“People and businesses vote with their feet, and continually they are choosing to move to Texas more than any other state in the country. Governor Lujan Grisham should focus on her state’s rapidly declining population instead of political stunts,” Mahaleris said to CNN.

The Hill has reached out to Abbott’s office for comment.