Recently, the U.S. and Mexico have gone in opposite directions on abortion rights. For many years, Mexican women looked longingly towards gains made by women in the U.S., including. Roe v. Wade, which was passed in 1973, constitutionally protects a woman’s right to have an abortion.
Yet, with Mexico being a predominantly Catholic and male-dominated country, abortion and even family planning were looked down upon. To make matters worse, at the same time, Mexico and many countries in Latin America have been confronting the insidious growth of femicide, sex trafficking, and dehumanization that violence and drug trafficking engender.
In Mexico, abortion was illegal for many years, and women were imprisoned because of it. Yet, behind the scenes, all was not quiet. Though exact figures are difficult to obtain, it is estimated that over half a million Mexican women seek abortion each year. At least two thousand people die every year due to illegally performed abortions. Complications of unsafe abortions were the fourth highest cause of hospitalization for women in their reproductive years.
The reasons given for having an abortion were overwhelmingly economic, with poverty, lack of financial support, unplanned pregnancy, and relationship problems featuring high in the decision.
Just as U.S. conservatives worked for decades to cut back abortion access and increase conservative judges, Mexican and other Latin American abortion-rights groups worked patiently to decriminalize
abortion and increase its accessibility.
In 2007, Mexico City’s Mayor Marcelo Ebrard, responding to pressure groups, decriminalized abortion, and abortion rights activists worked hard to expand services, provide support groups, and counter opposition.
Two years ago, the Mexican Supreme Court ruled to decriminalize abortion in the northern Mexican state of Coahuila. Although abortion was legal in only 10 of Mexico’s 32 states, women’s rights groups and abortion rights activists persistently and actively lobbied for decriminalization in the remaining states.
They participate in marches and protests, open and semi-clandestine support groups, and promote abortion pills, one of which can be purchased without a prescription, as well as tele- abortion services. On September 8th, 2023, the Mexican Supreme Court decriminalized abortion in all Mexican states, paving the way for abortion rights throughout Mexico.
Now that right-wing forces have been successful in overturning Roe v. Wade in the U.S., the solidarity efforts are crossing borders. Groups like Las Libres in Central Mexico and Las Confidentas offer hotlines and facilitate prescriptions up to 12 weeks of gestation in the Tijuana- San Diego region. Similar efforts are occurring along Texas and other border states. 15% of clients at one Mexico City clinic are U.S. citizens.
A powerful cross-border movement for promoting women’s rights, health, and dignity has developed and is growing. It is actually a hemispheric-wide movement with the “green wave,” emblematic of Latin America’s abortion-rights movement spanning Colombia, Argentina, Ecuador, and other countries.
The road has not been easy, with 15 states in the U.S. banning abortion totally despite diminishing obstetrical services and growing maternal mortality nationwide, especially among African-American
women. However, the movement in the U.S., with victories in Ohio, Kentucky, and other places, draws inspiration from both sides of the border.
In Mexico, patience and hard work are likewise paying off, with a growing number of Mexicans supporting a woman’s right to abortion. With a woman potentially becoming President of Mexico in 2024 and both female candidates declaring their support of abortion, it is anticipated that the safety and health of women will become the priority it deserves.
The following includes information on the U.S. abortion rights battles, much of which is borrowed from https://yourlocalepidemiologist.substack.com/p/women-fighting-for-their-lives-in.
The U.S. already had higher maternal mortality compared to all the other high-income countries before the U.S. Supreme Court ruled to overturn Roe v. Wade:
- Maternal mortality was already increasing for all racial groups before Roe v. Wade
- Black women have 3 times higher maternal mortality (69.8/1000 live births
Role of Restrictions:
- “Recent fiscal and legislative changes reducing women’s access to family planning and reproductive health services have contributed to rising maternal mortality rates”. (American Journal of Preventive Medicine, v58, Issue 2, Feb 2020, pp165-174).
- For example, 20% reduction in Planned Parenthood clinics was associated with an 8% increase in maternal mortality (American Journal of Public Health Sept. 2021, State abortion policies & maternal death in the U.S. 2015-2018).
- It is projected that in the aftermath of the overturn of Roe. V. Wade, there will be an increase of 24% in maternal deaths due to seeking unsafe abortions. https://www.colorado.edu/today/2022/06/30/abortion-bans-increase-maternal-mortality-even-more-study-shows.
- The World Health Organization reports that unsafe or illegal abortions [ that U.S. women may have to resort to] account for up to 10% of maternal deaths.
- There are long-term psychological, physical, and financial consequences to women who are denied abortion. https://yourlocalepidemiologist.substack.com/p/women-fighting-for-their-lives-in.
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Beautiful artwork. The article will be shared with a progressive regional paper and with the authors cited above.