Mexican Alliance Celebrates First Anniversary of Law Decriminalizing Abortion
Last week, Mexico City celebrated its first anniversary of passing a law deciminalizing abortion in the capital of the world's second largest Catholic country. More than 10 million women in Mexico City and its suburbs now benefit from this important legislation. Read a letter from three of our grantee partners in Mexico, Católicas por el Derecho a Decidir (CDD), Equidad de Género: Ciudadanía, Trabajo y Familia (Equidad) and Grupo de Información en Reproducción Elegida (GIRE), about this historic occasion:

April 24, 2008

Dear friends,
 
A year ago today the Mexico City Legislative Assembly passed a law decriminalizing abortion in the first trimester in Mexico’s capital. We continue to be moved and amazed by the positive impact that the law has had on so many women’s lives. Since the reform took effect, over 18,000 women have approached government hospitals for information about abortion services, and according to the latest data from the Mexico City Ministry of Health, 7,820 women have received early legal abortion services in these public hospitals. Clearly, the law has given women the power to make safe and informed decisions about their lives and futures.

Yesterday, the Alliance organizations held a special event to commemorate the reform’s first anniversary in downtown Mexico City —just a few blocks away from the chambers of the Legislative Assembly that showed such courage last spring. The event was presided by Marta Lamas, on behalf of the Alliance, with the participation of Dr. Manuel Mondragón y Kalb, Mexico City’s Minister of Health; Leticia Bonifaz, legal council to Mexico City’s Mayor, Marcelo Ebrard; Víctor Hugo Círigo, President of the Mexico City Legislative Assembly, that supported the reform together with a coalition of legislators; and Alejandra Hernández, a young woman who shared her personal testimony regarding her decision to seek a legal abortion after the law was passed. We were joined by over 150 allies, including civil society organizations, representatives of the Legislative Assembly, hospital directors, government officials, academics, colleagues from private foundations, and over 40 members of the national and international press. The event allowed for reflection on the radical changes that have taken place over the past year, and with a view towards the future, also provided an opportunity to hear key public officials’ perspectives on the Supreme Court’s consideration and review of the reform’s constitutionality, currently underway. On a more personal note, each of the four speakers attested to how the abortion reform has been transformative, touching many sectors of society and benefiting thousands of women. 

Dr. Manuel Mondragón, a stalwart supporter of women’s right to decide, provided hard data and statistics on the quality of care received by women terminating their pregnancies as well as on the women themselves. He noted that abortion procedures in Mexico City are on par with international standards, although with a lower rate of complications than the international average. Despite only one year of service provision, in the last month, MVA accounted for 49% of procedures, medical abortions 46% -comparable to the percentage in the UK- and D&C only 5%. He also shared that 100% of women who have received abortion services left the hospital with information on contraception, and 75% with some form of contraception. 55% of the women are single and 89% are Catholic. The majority of women who received services are between 18 and 29 years of age and have at least a primary level of education, which he interpreted as a sign that youth need better sexuality education. Dr. Mondragón also addressed the case of the young girl who died as a result of complications during a termination procedure, after the legal limit of twelve weeks, expressing his heartfelt regret for this occurrence, but reassuring all present that it was a result of breaching institutional guidelines.
 
The following speaker, Leticia Bonifaz, who spoke on behalf of the Mexico City Mayor, emphasized that the Mexico City government has strong arguments to present to the Supreme Court in favor of the law, a sentiment which was next echoed by Víctor Hugo Círigo, who revealed that during the public hearing with the Court this Friday April 25th, the Mexico City Legislative Assembly will present solid and evidence-based arguments in support of the reform. While praising the reform as a victory for women’s health and rights, he criticized efforts of conservative groups to overturn the law; particularly the fact that Catholic bishops have pressured Supreme Court Justices to find the law unconstitutional, even though Church intervention in politics is illegal.
 
Alejandra Hernández spoke movingly and critically of how many women who terminate their pregnancies experience trauma not from guilt, but from the severe social stigma and rejection they face from peers, family members and even in some cases from service providers. She affirmed that while her decision to have an abortion was not an easy one, it was the right decision for her, and credited the reform with having saved her life. From her standpoint as a university student studying philosophy, she denounced the discourse of anti-choice groups who declare that women who die from unsafe abortions “deserve it” as unethical and reprehensible.

Marta Lamas closed the event by presenting soon-to-be published figures from the Population Council’s most recent Mexico City public opinion survey (Spanish summary attached), completed just a few weeks ago, which showed that a full 63% of those surveyed (women and men aged 14 and above) support the law, up from 46% in May 2007 and 32% prior to the reform in April 2007. This surge in support could signal that people realize how many women have been spared the trauma of undergoing illegal and life-threatening abortions, and instead have had the procedure performed safely and free-of-charge in governmental facilities. Of those surveyed, 69% think that the law should be extended to other Mexican states and that women from outside of Mexico City should be able to come to the capital city to have abortions. 87% support stronger sexuality education programs to prevent unwanted pregnancies. A large majority of survey participants believe that either the women alone (46%) or the woman and her partner (34%) should have the final say on whether or not she will have an abortion. 55% believe that girls under 18 should have access to abortion. 66% believe the law particularly benefits low-income women and 65% think that the Court should uphold the law. The Supreme Court has yet to rule on the law’s constitutionality, but the public has already given the reform its vote of confidence.

Last night, several television stations ran reports on the event, including an interview with Alejandra Hernández on Televisa, Mexico’s most-watched national nightly news, in which she related her experience of having an abortion at a public hospital in Mexico City, stressed that the reform had saved her life, and declared that all women should the right to decide. This interview was one of the first times that a woman in Mexico has so publicly and openly shared her positive experiences with having an abortion, and was a tremendously important step towards breaking down the stigma surrounding the procedure. Marta Lamas and Leticia Bonifaz were both interviewed on a CNN program that airs across Latin America, in which Marta quoted figures from Population Council’s survey and Leticia reiterated that the reform is in line with the Mexican constitution and criticized the sentiment that a fertilized egg has more rights than a living, breathing woman. This morning, Mexico’s major newspapers ran articles reporting on different themes discussed at yesterday’s event, from the figures showing increased support for the law, to the Mexico City government’s efforts to have the law upheld by the Supreme Court, to the Minister of Health’s affirmations that that the law has saved women’s lives. The coverage conveyed the message that representatives from a range of sectors—political, health, civil society—and the general public form a united front in support of the law, and the reform serves the interests and needs of society as a whole, not of any one particular group. 

This event showcased the appropriation of women’s right to decide in Mexican society, both in the very open declarations in favor of the law by influential, highly regarded public officials, as well as the high level of interest shown by the media. As you know, this support is the fruit of cross-sector alliances carefully built over the past eight years and of a series of efforts and accomplishments that created an environment where this life-saving reform could garner such widespread approval. This victory would never have been possible without our sustained partnership and mutual trust with you. Social change, often so elusive and hard to measure, has undeniably taken place before our very eyes over the past year, demonstrating how your grantmaking changes and improves lives. The 7,820 women and the thousands who will benefit from this law in the future bear witness. Each and every woman across Mexico should have access to this live-saving right, if she so chooses.
 
Thank you for continuing to stand with us in our fight for Mexican women’s rights, autonomy health, and lives.

Warmest regards,

Católicas por el Derecho a Decidir (CDD); Equidad de Género: Ciudadanía, Trabajo y Familia (Equidad); Grupo de Información en Reproducción Elegida (GIRE); Ipas Mexico; and the Population Council’s Mexico office

Photo Courtesy: SF Chronicle