Top officials challenge local abortion ordinances — but could the strategy backfire?

Last June, after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, Whole Woman's Health closed four clinics in Texas and started fundraising to move their operations to New Mexico, where the procedure remains legal.

They looked at opening in cities close to the Texas border, like Clovis and Hobbs.

But much of the east of the state is conservative, and by November, commissioners in Hobbs had proposed an ordinance strictly limiting access to abortion and were hearing public comment.

In a recording of a November 7 meeting, resident Henry DeLara can be seen stepping up.

"We here in New Mexico happen to be a very abortion-friendly state," he said. "But right here in Hobbs today, this night, we can push back. We can make a statement that: No! Not here in this county, not here in this city and eventually not here in this state."