Senate committee advances bill to repeal state abortion reporting statute

The Senate Judiciary Committee voted to advance Senate Bill 30, a measure to repeal a 49‑year‑old New Mexico law that requires the reporting of induced abortions to the state registrar.

Sponsor testimony, witnesses and advocates said the statute (24‑14‑18) requires institutions or attending physicians to report abortions and that, while the law prohibits release of patient names, it currently records provider names in reports and gives the state registrar discretion to disclose records under section 24‑14‑28. "We believe that abortion reporting requirements are harmful because they fuel criminalization and put people seeking reproductive care at risk," said Diana Warren, a staff attorney at the ACLU of New Mexico, during public testimony.

Supporters argued the reporting requirement is outdated given the state’s current legal framework for reproductive care and pointed to alternative voluntary data sources such as Guttmacher and the We Count survey as preferable for monitoring trends. The sponsor said the law was written nearly five decades ago and that the reporting provides no medical benefit while exposing providers and patients to privacy and safety risks.

Opponents said repealing the statute would erase a layer of oversight and hamper lawmakers’ and public‑health officials’ ability to track trends. "Public health decisions depend on accurate aggregate data," Jody Hendricks, executive director of New Mexico Family Action Movement, told the committee, urging members to vote no.

Committee members pressed sponsors and experts on whether provider identities are included in current reports and where the data could otherwise be obtained. Witnesses confirmed physician names are placed in the underlying reports, though the statute states the department shall not release those names; they also said alternative sources, including an all‑payer claims database and voluntary national surveys, already supply demographic and travel data.

After public testimony and member questions, the committee held a roll‑call do‑pass vote and the chair announced the bill had a do‑pass recommendation to the floor.

The committee did not adopt amendments during the hearing; next steps are to place SB30 on the Senate floor calendar for further consideration.