SANTA FE – Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham issued the following statement on Friday upon the release of the U.S. Supreme Court opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization overturning Roe v. Wade and eliminating the federal constitutional right to abortion:

“The moment we have long dreaded has arrived, and our nation will be the worse for it. With this ruling, the Supreme Court has unilaterally thrown out 50 years of judicial precedent and subverted the will of millions of Americans who believe in a woman’s right to make her own decisions about her body.

“Today, a new generation of women will be forced to face a future where they cannot seek safe, legal abortions; a future where they must navigate an increasingly draconian patchwork of restrictions to get care; a future where they live in perpetual fear that they may be required to carry a pregnancy against their will – conceived under horrific circumstances like rape or incest, or that may risk their very life; a future where they fear that their neighbor might report them or their doctors to the police if they attempt to seek care in another state.

“This opinion is the culmination of decades of careful, sinister planning by hyper-partisan, archconservative Republican leaders in D.C. For years, they have pushed for cruel restrictions on women at every turn – inhibiting access to contraceptives and forcing them to endure torture during the simple act of walking into an abortion clinic. Let’s be clear – this decision not only affects a woman’s right to choose, but also a woman’s right and ability to seek medically-necessary health care.

“This ruling will destroy both lives and livelihoods. Make no mistake: this is a war on women. The effort is not to protect life but to diminish it, to control women and relegate them as second-class citizens.

“In anticipation of this very moment, we took action. We eliminated New Mexico’s antiquated trigger ban on abortion, safeguarding the right of every woman in this state to make critical decisions about their own health and to decide for themselves – and their families – when to have children. As the laws in this country change before our very eyes, I will continue to fight for the right to a safe, legal abortion in New Mexico and stand as a brick wall against those who seek to punish women and their doctors just because they seek the care they need and deserve.”