Abortion in Mexico: In Defense of Legality, Freedom, and Safety

Abstract

In Mexico, about one half of all pregnancies are unplanned, and about one half of those are resolved with an induced abortion. In 2007, the interruption of pregnancy became legal up to 12 weeks of gestation in Mexico City. However, many Mexican states have changed their legislation to give an embryo, from the moment of conception, the same legal rights as a person. The objective of this article is to discuss different situations in which women have an abortion in Mexico, with a focus on pharmacological self-induced abortion. We highlight the importance of decriminalizing abortion and the necessity of providing information and support to women.

Keywords:

• legal interruption of pregnancy
• abortion
• unsafe abortion
• misoprostol

Conflict of Interest

The authors have nothing to disclose.

Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank Juergen Dankwort for his comments on the text.

Notes

1 Unsafe abortion is defined by the World Health Organization as a procedure for terminating an unintended pregnancy carried out either by persons lacking the necessary skills, or in an environment that does not conform to minimal medical standards, or both (WHO, 2003).