Vol. 71/No. 19      May 14, 2007

“This is a step forward, not backward, for a woman’s right and freedom to choose… about her body and her life,” Gabriela Cruz, 36, told the Associated Press at a pro-choice demonstration in Mexico City after the vote.

Up to 1 million women in Mexico seek abortions each year. As in other countries where abortion is illegal, the wealthy have access to safe medical treatment. But an estimated 2,000-3,000 working-class women die each year in Mexico from back-alley or self-induced abortions. Complications from illegal abortions are the fifth-leading cause of death among Mexican women.

The new law registers changing attitudes as women become more integrated in the workforce and social life. A recent poll in the Mexican newspaper Reforma showed that 53 percent of Mexico City residents backed the measure, while 43 percent opposed it.

In Latin America, abortion is legal only in Cuba, Guyana, and the U.S. colony Puerto Rico. Federal law in Mexico currently allows abortion in cases of rape or if a woman’s life is in danger. Under the new Mexico City law, women who have an abortion after the first trimester face three to six months in jail, and doctors performing the procedure after that period face one to three years in jail.

Mexico City’s mayor Marcelo Ebrard of the social democratic Democratic Revolution Party has promised to sign the bill into law. Catholic church officials and leaders of the National Action Party, the party of Mexico’s president, have said they will challenge the new law before the country’s Supreme Court.

Meanwhile, when City Health Secretary Manuel Mondragon announced how the law would be implemented, he outlined its limitations. Except in cases of medical emergency, women seeking abortions will have to prove residency in Mexico City to prevent others from traveling there for the procedure. Minors under 18 will need parental consent, and gynecologists can refuse to perform abortions. Fourteen public hospitals will be able to perform up to seven abortions per day in a city that is home to more than 8 million people.
 
 
Related articles:
Abortion: a woman's right to choose  
 
 
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