In a landmark decision which has provoked strong emotions from both proponents and opponents of the law, the Mexican Supreme Court ruled in August 2008 to uphold a Mexico City statute which allows for “unrestricted abortions in the first trimester of pregnancy.” The decision is surprising, considering the fervent opposition it received from both the Roman Catholic Church, which holds an enormous amount of influence in Mexico, and the currently conservative federal government under President Felipe Calderón. Adding to the monumentality of the ruling is the fact that Mexico is situated in a region in which almost all countries either ban abortion, or permit it only under a very narrow set of circumstances. In most states in Mexico itself, abortion is legally permitted only in extreme situations, such as in cases of rape or incest [1].
Yet, despite the surprise that accompanied it, the decision of the Mexican Supreme Court seems long overdue considering the gross number of fatalities that occur in Mexico, and other countries throughout the developing world, each year due to the tragically frequent occurrence of unsafe abortions. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines unsafe abortions to be “procedures for terminating an unintended pregnancy either by individuals without the necessary skills or in an environment that does not conform to minimum medical standards, or both.” In 2006, it was found that between 19 and 20 million women receive these extremely dangerous procedures annually, 97% of whom reside in developing countries [2]. Unsafe abortions are attempted through a variety of means, including ingestion of poisons and trauma inflicted on an impregnated woman’s abdomen. The majority of these methods are extremely painful and life-threatening; they usually result in the mother’s hospitalization due to complications which can be severe and have permanent consequences on her health. Devastatingly, an estimated 68,000 women die each year due to unsafe abortions, accounting for about 13% of maternal deaths worldwide, and an even larger percentage in underdeveloped regions, such as Latin America [2].
The astounding frequency of unsafe abortions is due largely to the legally stringent restrictions on abortion in most developing nations. However, in countries like India, which has provided a legal pathway to “medical terminations of pregnancy” for many decades, the dearth of accessibility to safe abortions has led to a continuing occurrence of risky and often tragic procedures. In fact, India has the highest rate in the world of cases of unsafe abortions [3]. The Abortion Assessment Project 1, which was released in 2004 by the Mumbai-based Centre for Equity into Health and Allied Themes, and the “Healthwatch Trust,” attributes this phenomenon largely to India’s “woefully inadequate” level of “public investment in abortion facilities” [3]. This deficiency has led to an insufficient number of clinics capable of safely performing abortions and, because many of these clinics are privately owned, a high price-tag for the procedures they offer. Persisting traditional social beliefs regarding the immorality of abortion also hinder the ability of many women to receive safe abortions [3].
The situation in India and similar countries proves the ineffectuality of solely legalizing abortion as a means of ending the tragic epidemic of unsafe abortions. In order to truly stop this problem, we must ensure that all women, especially those living in developing countries, are provided with easy and affordable access to facilities in which they can receive healthy abortions. Certainly, legalization has had a significantly positive effect in decreasing the prevalence of unsafe abortions; advocacy for this important step has led many countries, such as Colombia, to recently expand their guidelines for what are considered legal abortions [2].
In Mexico City, which had more than 124,000 hospitalizations due to complications from unsafe abortions between the years of 2001 and 2005, the legalization of abortion has shown promising results [4]. During the first year following the law’s initial passage in April 2007, about 7,280 women were able to receive safely-performed, legal terminations of pregnancy. Of these procedures, an impressive 96.9% were performed without complications. Now that the Mexican Supreme Court has declared Mexico City’s progressive law constitutional, hope exists that the increasing availability of safe procedures will continue to reduce the number of lives sadly endangered and lost each year due to unsafe abortions.
- Malkin, Elisabeth. “Mexico Court Is Set to Uphold Legalized Abortion in Capital.” The New York Times 28 Aug. 2008.
- Grimes, David A., Janie Benson, Susheela Singh, Mariana Romero, Bela Ganatra, Friday E. Okonofua, and Iqbal H. Shah. “Unsafe abortion: the preventable pandemic.” The Lancet 368 (2006): 1-9.
- Kohli, Namita. “Most Unsafe Abortions in India.” Hindustan Times 8 Sept. 2008.
- “Advocates celebrate first anniversary of safe abortion in Mexico City.” Www.Ipas.org. 24 Apr. 2008. Ipas. 16 Oct. 2008. <http://www.ipas.org/library/news/news_items/advocates_celebrate_first_anniversary_of_safe_abortion_in_mexico_city.aspx?ht=>.
- Velasco, Karim. “Legal Abortion in Mexico City, One Year Later.” Weblog post. RH Reality Check: Information and Analysis for Reproductive Health. 12 Aug. 2008. 11 Oct. 2008. <http://www.rhrealitycheck.org/blog/2008/08/04/legal-abortion-mexico-city-one-year-later>.
Tags: abortion, Mexico, women's health
