Latest news with #EqualityNewMexico
Yahoo
28-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Advocates champion health data privacy bills on Reproductive Justice Day of Action
Equality New Mexico Community Organizer Hazel Valente-Compton took part in Reproductive Justice Day of Action Feb. 27, 2025 at the New Mexico Legislature. (Julia Goldberg/SourceNM) In the aftermath of the U.S. Supreme Court's reversal of federal abortion rights in 2022, New Mexico enacted various laws protecting both reproductive and gender-affirming care. Since then, the state has experienced a significant surge of people coming to the state for health care such as abortions. Two bills proposed during the legislative session aim to protect the privacy of people seeking such care. On Thursday, as part of Reproductive Justice Day of Action, representatives from seven statewide organizations and lawmakers discussed the federal climate regarding reproductive and LGBTQ+ rights, and New Mexico's status as a safe place for people from other states to receive care. 'We are currently without protections of our own private information,' Deanna Warren, a reproductive rights and gender equity attorney for the ACLU of New Mexico, told Source NM. 'That has new implications under a Trump administration who is hostile to states that protect abortion and gender-affirming care.' Senate Bill 404 would strengthen privacy protections for electronic patient records by requiring health care providers and other entities to segregate some patient health care information, including data related to reproductive and gender-affirming care. If passed, user access to the information would be limited to people or entities with written authorization from the patient. The bill is currently in the Senate Health and Public Affairs Committee. 'We want to ensure that any patient who receives reproductive health care in New Mexico has the right to decide who else in the medical field will have access to those specific records,' co-sponsor President Pro Tempore Mimi Stewart (D-Albuquerque) said at a news conference Thursday held in the Roundhouse Rotunda. House Bill 430 would create the Health Data Privacy Act and restrict the use of personally identifiable health care data. It would regulate essentially any entity that collects health care data, according to Warren, including fitness apps and menstrual cycle tracking apps. If passed, it would also require providers to receive consent before accessing personally identifiable patient information. The bill is currently in the House Judiciary Committee. Warren said President Donald Trump's executive orders targeting gender-affirming care have made it more important for New Mexicans' health care data to stay in New Mexico. Under HB430, 'no federal agency, no other states could find out about a person's gender-affirming care unless it was consented to by a patient or unless they saw a subpoena by a state court,' Warren said. New Mexico's status as a safe place for reproductive and gender-affirming care was a theme throughout the news conference. After the event, Wendolyne Omaña, program manager for Tewa Women United's Reproductive Justice Program, told Source NM that New Mexico's access to this care came with effort. 'We've worked so hard, not only for people with wombs, but also transgender people and Queer people and immigrant communities,' Omaña said. Hazel Valente-Compton, a community organizer for Equality New Mexico, said that New Mexico has a history of standing for community justice and equal access to care. But transgender people fear losing their health care, which she described as 'life-saving.' Valente-Compton has been organizing for much of her life. 'Being a trans woman, I came out when I was 12 years old, and experiencing the adversity I faced as a trans child really opened my eyes to the adversity that all people are facing right now and I knew I had to make a change,' she told Source NM. Valente-Compton said President Donald Trump's actions executive orders targeting trans people have strengthened her resolve. 'I think there's a lot of fear,' she said. 'I do not want that fear to hold me back and lead to inaction. Despite the fear, we still have a voice, we still have power.'
Yahoo
27-01-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
New Mexico LGTBQ advocacy group responds to Trump's biological sex executive order
NEW MEXICO (KRQE) – President Donald Trump signed an executive order proclaiming that the federal government would only recognize two sexes, but what are the impacts these changes could have on the local LGBTQ+ community? 'The federal government does not have the authority to say unilaterally that trans and non-binary people aren't real, aren't here, aren't worthy of dignity and humanity,' said Marshall Martinez, executive director of Equality New Mexico. A recent executive order, calls for the federal government to define sex as only male or female, dismantling crucial protections for transgender people and gender identity. 'That's harmful, that's hurtful to people, but we don't; there is not much force of law behind executive orders, and we have to wait and see how this might be implemented,' continued Martinez. New Mexico officials speak out on Trump immigration policy Local advocacy groups like Equality New Mexico, say it's unclear what these changes to gender classifications could mean, but it will impact federal documents. 'We're pretty certain that the state department would recognize a gender change on a passport, and we'll have to see, sort of, what implementation in those areas look like,' shared Martinez. The order voids the 'x' designation, used for gender non-conforming individuals, that's been available since 2021, but one of the biggest concerns right now is the order's impact on health care. 'We have the strongest health care protection laws in the country here in New Mexico, and it's important for people to know right now you have autonomy over your body in the state of New Mexico,' emphasized Martinez. New Mexicans who want or need gender-affirming care can still access it, but this order would put transgender asylum seekers at the border at risk. The executive order has been signed but will nee more federal action. Congress would have to codify the definitions into law. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
