SANTA FE — Teresa Leger Fernandez, the first woman and first Latina Democratic nominee for New Mexico’s Third Congressional District, issued the following statement applauding the Supreme Court’s ruling in June Medical Services, LLC v. Russo to protect abortion access:

“Women and families across the nation are breathing a sigh of relief that these latest attacks on reproductive freedom have failed. The Supreme Court decision announced today (June 29) is an important victory for protecting abortion access and ensuring our community members can access the critical healthcare they need.

“But we know that this fight is not over. Donald Trump and his right-wing allies have made...

Washington, D.C. — U.S. House Assistant Speaker Ben Ray Luján, D-N.M., issued the following statement after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a Louisiana law June 29 that would have closed all but one abortion clinic in that state.

“The Court’s ruling reaffirms women’s reproductive rights, and it sends the message that laws like the one passed in Louisiana, infringe on those rights by limiting access to safe abortions. While this will certainly not be the last time that extremist legislators around the country try to chip away at a woman’s right to choose, today’s decision is a victory for the generations of women, advocates, and allies who have fought to uphold this...

SANTA FE — Despite a once-in-a-generation pandemic and an economic collapse never experienced in our lifetime, the Trump administration has decided to press the Supreme Court of the United States to eliminate the Affordable Care Act in its entirety.

That would mean 24 million Americans losing their health insurance; people with pre-existing conditions being denied coverage or charged exorbitant rates because of their illness; eliminating the federal and state health insurance exchanges; removing children up to age 26 from their parents’ health insurance policy; and eliminating critical federal health care funding for Medicaid expansion and premium assistance.

There is never an...

ALBUQUERQUE — Despite some improvements in several of the national 2020 KIDS COUNT Data Book indicators, New Mexico continues to rank 50th in the nation on child well-being. This is the fourth year the state has ranked at the very bottom for child well-being, having ranked 50th in 2013, 2018, and 2019.

The Data Book, which is put out every year by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, looks at 16 indicators of child well-being that track economic, education, and health issues, among others, then ranks the 50 states accordingly. Although the annual report uses the most recent data available, most of the data for this edition are from 2018 – so it does not reflect the current pandemic and...