(The Lion) — The New Mexico Supreme Court ruled unanimously on Thursday to invalidate local pro-life ordinances that banned abortion.

Communities such as Clovis and Hobbs, as well as Lea and Roosevelt Counties, had such ordinances in place despite not having any abortion clinics.

New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez sued these communities in 2023, arguing they lacked the authority to ban abortion in a state where it is legal through all nine months of pregnancy.

“Today’s ruling was a resounding victory for the citizens of New Mexico and affirms the right of every woman in this state to control their lives and their bodies free of government interference,” Torrez said in a press release from his office. “The ruling is also a clear repudiation of the dishonest attempt to weaponize a 19th-century federal law to deprive our citizens of their most basic rights.”

But Elisa Martinez, executive director of The New Mexico Alliance for Life, said the ruling highlights the need for the federal government to enforce the Comstock Act.

“The recent ruling by the New Mexico Supreme Court against pro-life ordinances was anticipated given the court’s composition and the significant sway of the abortion lobby in our state,” Martinez said in a statement. “The court wisely refrained from overstepping its boundaries by misinterpreting the New Mexico constitution as guaranteeing a right to elective abortion.

“This decision, although not in favor of pro-life ordinances, highlights the importance of our ongoing fight for life and actual reproductive health choices for women, along with the need for clarity from the United States Supreme Court on the enforcement of federal law.”

The municipalities that banned abortion cited the Comstock Act as their reason for doing so, which Torrez contested. The 1873 federal law prohibits the mailing of abortifacients, among other materials.