CNN
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Dr. R. Todd Ivey, a practicing OBGYN in Houston, Texas, opened his Sunday paper last weekend to find a letter from New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham – directed at him.

“It must be distressing that a draconian abortion ban has restricted your right to practice and turned it into a political weapon,” Lujan Grisham wrote.

“I certainly respect those of you who remain committed to caring for patients in Texas, but I also invite those of you who can no longer tolerate these restrictions to consider practicing next door in New Mexico,” she added. “We’re fiercely committed to protecting medical freedoms here and we’re taking steps to ensure that what happened in Texas never happens in New Mexico.”

The letter, addressed to health care providers in Texas, appeared in five full-page ads in major newspapers across Texas.

It’s part of New Mexico’s $400,000 campaign dubbed “Free to Provide,” aimed at recruiting doctors from neighboring Texas who feel restricted by their state’s strict abortion ban. Ahead of the letter’s publishing, the campaign strategically placed six “Free to Provide” billboards around the Houston Medical Center.

Why specifically target doctors from Texas?

“We have to start somewhere,” Dr. Miranda Durham, chief medical officer for New Mexico’s health department, told CNN. “We are looking to improve the health care of New Mexicans and recruiting providers, wherever they want to move from, is part of that strategy.”

Like many states across the US, New Mexico is facing a health care provider shortage, across specialties, Durham said. As states in the region have implemented restrictive abortion policies, out-of-state patients are increasingly seeking abortion care in New Mexico, she noted.

“It’s bringing more patients to a state that’s already somewhat stressed by a provider shortage,” Durham said.

Abortion is legal without restrictions on pregnancy length in New Mexico, and the state has a shield law that protects its abortion providers caring for out-of-state residents.

Texas, on the other hand, adopted a near-total abortion ban in 2022, without exceptions for rape or incest.

Texas law does allow for exceptions in medical emergencies that threaten the life of the pregnant person, but the law does not outline exactly what constitutes a medical emergency. Doctors who violate the law risk up to $100,000 in penalties – not to mention the loss of their medical licenses and prison time.

“It’s gut-wrenching to look at a patient who you know is going to lose her pregnancy, and then say, ‘Oh, I’m sorry. We have to wait until something more severe happens,’” Ivey said. “It’s gut-wrenching, it’s – it’s not right.”

Ivey said he personally knows several doctors who made the decision to retire or practice in another state, in part because of the restrictions placed on them by Texas’ abortion law.

Rather than leaving, Ivey has encouraged his peers to stay and fight for a change in policy.

“We should be able to practice medicine – good, evidence-based, quality care – without fear of going to jail or losing our license,” he said. “Relocation is never going to be an answer for me.”

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s office called New Mexico’s campaign a stunt.

“People and businesses vote with their feet, and continually they are choosing to move to Texas more than any other state in the country. Governor Lujan Grisham should focus on her state’s rapidly declining population instead of political stunts,” Abbott’s press secretary Andrew Mahaleris told CNN in a statement.

About 116 health centers, hospitals and other providers have posted open jobs to the campaign’s webpage where interested applicants can apply, according to New Mexico’s health department.

Democratic Texas state Rep. Vikki Goodwin, who voted against her state’s abortion ban, told CNN that the law has left some doctors in Texas concerned for their livelihood.

“Hopefully we can retain good OBGYNs here in the state, because we do have a growing population, but I want our state leaders to be aware of what’s happening and the fact that we may lose good doctors to nearby states who do allow their doctors to practice as they see appropriate,” Goodwin said.

Researchers with the Association of American Medical Colleges examined applications from the 2023-2024 residency cycle and found that states with abortion bans, including Texas, had larger decreases in residency applications than states where abortion remained legal. That trend is likely to continue, the researchers noted.

New Mexico has two medical schools, while Texas has more than a dozen – granted, the Lone Star state has a much larger population.

In New Mexico, 33.3% of counties are considered maternity care deserts, where access to services is limited or absent, compared to 46.5% in Texas, according to a March of Dimes report.

Texas’ medical emergency exception was tested in a high-profile case last December, when a woman who was told her life and future fertility could be at risk without an abortion was denied one by the state supreme court. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton publicly named the patient’s doctor in an open letter threatening first-degree felony prosecutions and civil penalties of $100,000.

Ivey and other physicians in the state took notice.

“As a physician, when you’re in that position, you want to make a reasonable medical judgment, but you’ve got the looming fear of these really severe penalties,” Ivey said. “If the law is unclear and physicians don’t have protection, how can they feel comfortable moving forward?”

Dr. Kimberly Pilkinton, president of the Texas Association of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, told CNN Wednesday that she was saddened by Lujan Grisham’s letter.

“The thought of losing current and/or future physicians to another state primarily based on politicized medical issues is unfortunate,” Pilkinton said in a statement.

The Texas Association of Obstetricians and Gynecologists says it opposes policies that “interfere with the patient-physician relationship, especially under the threat of felony,” and has called for state policymakers to revise and create new laws related to the care of women and their families.

The “majority of physicians are servant leaders who want to concentrate on caring for their patients, and all states need to offer support in doing so and stop interfering with the ability to counsel and care for patients to the best of our ability to do so,” Pilkinton added. “Hopefully, our Texas governing body will offer a response and encourage current and future physicians to remain in our great state of Texas.”

Ivey is a member of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and he and his peers have called on state leaders to work towards revising abortion policy in Texas.

He said he hopes doctors join them in pushing back on restrictive abortion bans, as opposed to relocating.

“My heart is in Texas, and I want to stay here,” Ivey said. “I can’t speak for everyone, but I certainly hope that people realize that the women of Texas need us. They need good care.”

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – New Mexico is getting hotter and climate advocates say it’s becoming a life-threatening issue.

A map from the independent group Climate Central shows what parts of the country have seen the biggest increases in average summer temperatures since 1970. New Mexico is pretty dark, with almost every county experiencing at least a 3 degree increase.

That might not sound like much, but this is the average increase, meaning there’s been summer days well above the normal temperatures.

Experts predict it’s only going to get hotter and more dangerous for everyday New Mexicans.

“New Mexico is getting hotter in every county, in every community,” said Nathaniel Matthews-Trigg, a founding member of Healthy Climate New Mexico. 

Matthews-Trigg says it’s not the kind of heat you can just tough it out through anymore.

“All of a sudden, we’re reaching points where it’s taking physical tolls on our bodies. It’s becoming more difficult to play outside in the summer, to work in the garden, to exercise outdoors,” said Matthews-Trigg. 

According to National Weather Service data, temperatures hit 100 degrees in Albuquerque 17 days last year, quadrupling the number of triple-digit days in 2022.

There’s only been five 100 degree days this year so far, but that’s not the most concerning statistic.

“When we look at the research, we see that this increase in average temperature, which means greater extreme heat events, is really resulting in an increase in injury and death,” Matthews-Trigg said. 

Data from the New Mexico Health Department is clear, more New Mexicans are dying from the heat and even more are going to the hospital because of it.

It’s a concern for business owners like John Grisak who manages three different roofing companies in New Mexico.

“These are the toughest men and women you’ve ever seen, because they have to work in extreme cold, but they also work in very, very extreme heat,” said John Grisak, owner of Fiddler Roofing. 

Grisak says his roofers are good about drinking water and taking breaks when they need it, so he doesn’t enforce any heat-related policies. But that’s not always the case.

“We know that outdoor workers are incredibly vulnerable, and there’s a growing movement for occupational heat standard,” said Matthews-Trigg.  

The Biden administration recently directed OSHA to make that happen after data shows more than 400 American workers died from heat-related issues since 2011.

Matthews-Trigg suggests state lawmakers could approve a statewide occupation heat standard faster, and tailor it for New Mexico’s specific climate.

“In New Mexico, we don’t have much humidity, but what we do have is really intense sun, what we call solar radiation. So we need to make sure that any occupational heat standard takes into account the local context,” Matthews-Trigg said. 

Grisak says he would welcome the oversight.

“We’ll follow the law, whatever needs to be done. Because without these tough men and women, I don’t have a business,” said Grisak. 

Matthews-Trigg says there are also a lot of opportunities for community groups to partner with local governments and clinics to help New Mexicans brace the intense heat before approving new laws.

A New Mexico teen accused of killing her newborn and abandoning him in a hospital bathroom trashcan had a major victory in court.

The state’s Supreme Court postponed Alexee Trevizo’s August 6 pre-trial hearing while it decides whether certain evidence, including her own statements in the hospital, can be used.

Prosecutors charged Trevizo with first-degree murder of her newborn son in January 2023. They also charged her with intentional child abuse and tampering with evidence, according to a criminal complaint filed in Eddy County, southeastern New Mexico.

Doctors informed the teen she was pregnant after she went to the emergency room for back pain. While at the hospital, she allegedly locked herself in a bathroom, gave birth to a boy, tied him up in a trash bag, and hid him beneath other items in the bin. The baby was later found dead.

What We Know

The district court ruled in favor of the defense and excluded all statements Trevizo made to her medical providers, citing doctor-patient privilege. She made these statements in front of her doctor and mother.

Gary C. Mitchell, Trevizo’s attorney, argued that her mother nor police officers should not have been in the room, especially with a bodycam. He said everything his client did once she crossed the threshold of the hospital should be privileged because she was seeking medical care.

“They violated the doctor-patient privilege and they violated Miranda rights – trying to talk to somebody without telling them about their constitutional rights,” Mitchell said in an interview.

Mitchell also stated this case is huge because it affects both women’s rights and reproductive issues. He said these conversations should have been protected, there’s also a civil lawsuit against the hospital for malpractice.

“My client went to the only place she could get help, she went to the hospital and she did everything that the nurses and doctors required her to do,” Mitchell said.

On the other hand, Dianna Luce, the district attorney, appealed the ruling and argued that the teen waived her privilege by making statements repeatedly, knowing her mother and officers were present.

Newsweek reached out to Luce, however, she has not yet responded.

“The state’s not going to have certain evidence that they can introduce – all the video film and all the stuff that should have been confidential and all the testing,” Mitchell said. “Can they make a case otherwise? I don’t think they can but that doesn’t mean they’re not going to try.”

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