Jackson Women’s Health Organization has been the focal point of the overturning of Roe v. Wade, which took away the constitutional right for women to have abortions.

While they are still doing abortions in Mississippi for the final days of legality, the clinic will be moving its business to Las Cruces, N.M.

Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham recently signed an executive order to protect women who travel from out of state to New Mexico for an abortion, a Thursday KRQE news report said. 

Shannon Brewer, the clinic’s executive director, noted that there are a variety of reasons to move to Las Cruces; the news report said. For instance, there is a growing need in the area as there is only one abortion clinic in the city and only one in nearby Santa Teresa. The plan is for the clinic to open in July.

“Reasons for picking Las Cruces is because we knew that, we anticipate that a lot of patients are going to need surgical procedures also and our plans are to do medical procedures, surgical procedures, family planning, birth control,” Brewer told KRQE. “People don’t realize that a lot of women have never left the state where they live, a lot of people have never been on a flight to go anywhere a lot of people they’ve never booked a flight to go out of town to do things and that’s a scary thing so we were trying to be somewhere where it wouldn’t be hard for them to get to us if they need to.”

The clinic has been seeing an increase in the number of patients since Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization was upheld and Roe v. Wade was overturned, the report said. The increase was also more apparent now that Texas has a ban on abortions after six weeks of pregnancy. Brewer said they have been seeing patients daily and the amount has doubled as the final day of legality for abortions in Mississippi nears.

Mark Cavaliere, executive director of the Southwest Coalition for Life, told KRQE the relocation was not a surprise and added that going to Las Cruces meant a bigger profit due to less competition. 

Steve Pearce, New Mexico Republican Party chair, also spoke out, saying they will “continue fighting for life,” the report said. He called New Mexico’s abortion policy “extreme.”