Summary

The Center for Reproductive Rights filed a case in New Mexico seeking declaratory relief, preliminary and permanent injunctions in response to a state rule, Rule 766, limiting the use of Medicaid funds to cover abortion services. The district court granted a preliminary injunction, it was appealed in the New Mexico State Court of Appeals, and on November 25, 1998, the New Mexico Supreme Court settled the case by ruling in favor of the Center and instating a permanent injunction.

About the case and rulings

About the case and rulings

In this case, the Center for Reproductive Rights challenged the ability of the New Mexico Human Services Department to restrict Medicaid funding for abortion care. Specifically, this case sought to block a rule that barred Medicaid-eligible women from using Medicaid funds to pay for medically necessary abortion care. The Center argued barring the use of Medicaid funds for medically necessary abortion care violated New Mexico’s Equal Rights Amendment, since medically necessary procedures for men were covered by Medicaid.

The district court ruled “…the Department must allow the use of state funds to pay for abortions for Medicaid-eligible women when they are medically necessary” and that an abortion is “…’medically necessary‘ when a pregnancy aggravates a pre-existing condition, makes treatment of a condition impossible, interferes with or hampers a diagnosis, or has a profound negative impact upon the physical or mental health of an individual.”

The New Mexico Supreme Court affirmed the lower court’s ruling on the basis of New Mexico’s Equal Rights Amendment. The Court declined to broaden the scope of the ruling to recognize abortion rights as protected under New Mexico’s constitution.

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