LAS CRUCES, N.M. — Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham was on hand Thursday to help kick off the construction of a new reproductive health clinic in Doña Ana County.

A project years in the making, the clinic will expand health care services in southern New Mexico. State lawmakers approved the $10 million in capital improvement funds to build it in 2022. The governor says the clinic will not only help people in New Mexico but also people from Texas and Oklahoma who have restricted access to abortion.

“No state funds get used to pay for the services for someone out of state. But if I don’t have buildings, I’m underserving New Mexicans as well. We have a dearth of clinical operations. And you know what health practitioners say to me? I can’t move there. I can’t set up a practice there,” the governor said.

Gov. Lujan Grisham said the clinic will also provide access to birth control, support during miscarriages, adoption education and resources, and cancer screenings, as well as abortions.

“We do not as a country, do not as a state, provide primary care access to women which includes reproductive health care, which includes abortion care and after care. It has to be all of the above,” she said.

The governor is encouraging those in need of reproductive health services to use the NMHealth Help Line. It’s confidential and multi-lingual. The number is 1-833-796-8773/