This story is republished from NM Political Report, a nonprofit news outlet, as a part of our commitment to bringing you the best in independent news coverage that matters to Albuquerque.
By Matthew Reichbach
A majority of New Mexicans believe that New Mexico’s abortion laws should be less restrictive or should remain about the same as they are now.
Similarly, over 60 percent say that abortion should always be legal or should be legal most of the time.
New Mexico abortion laws are among the most permissive for abortion in the region following the Dobbs U.S. Supreme Court decision that allowed states to ban abortion, overturning decades of precedent from the court’s Roe v. Wade decision.
In a poll, conducted by Public Policy polling for NM Political Report, 31 percent said New Mexico abortion laws should be about the same as they are now, 27 percent said they should be less restrictive and 30 percent said the laws should be more restrictive.
New Mexico passed a law in 2021 that overturned an abortion law that was on the books from before Roe in anticipation of the nation’s high court overturning the decision.
States across the country have instituted abortion bans since the conservative Supreme Court justices overturned Roe.
Meanwhile, a plurality, 41 percent, say that abortion should always be legal. Another 21 percent say that abortion should be legal most of the time. On the other side of the issue, 29 percent say that abortion should be illegal except in cases of rape, incest or to save the mother’s live, while 5 percent say that abortion should be illegal without any exceptions.
A near majority of women polled, 48 percent, said that abortion should always be legal, while 16 percent said it should be legal most of the time. Among women, 26 percent said that abortion should be illegal except in cases of rape, incest and to save the mother’s life, while 6 percent said it should be illegal without any exceptions.
Among men, meanwhile, 33 percent said abortion should always be legal and 25 percent said it should be legal most of the time, while 32 percent said it should be illegal except in cases of rape, incest and to save the mother’s life and 5 percent said it should be illegal without any exceptions.
Public Policy Polling polled 555 New Mexico voters on June 13 and 14 by landline and text messages. The poll has a margin of error of +/- 4.2 percent, which means any topline result could be 4.2 percent lower or higher. Subgroups have higher margins of error. Percentages may not add up to 100 percent due to rounding.