Mexico

The abortion policy in Mexico is not as clear as it is in more developed countries. The nation is still torn as to what the policy should be over abortion. The current policy is in the hands of the current Mexican President. Although recent public opinion poles have shown that the Mexican citizens would support a national referendum on abortion, the two sides of the issues make the referendum divided. Mexicans have been exposed for many years of abortion being illegal. Abortion advocates want the abortion issue to be debated more often as they wish to have legislation that would legalize abortion. Those who are opposed to abortion do not want debate to be opened because the current policy mostly favors their beliefs.
Before Vincente Fox took over as Mexico's President, his party members in control of the state of Guanajuato passed a law that banned all abortions without exception. The law provided prison terms of eight years for women who received abortions. A huge uproar occurred with womens groups and abortion supporters everywhere. At that time, all of Mexicos 32 states permitted abortions, but only under special circumstances such as rape and medical dangers to the mother could an abortion be performed.
When Vincente Fox of the National Action Party (PAN) took office in late 2000, the abortion debate became more and more publicized. Now that a new President had taken over, they wondered what his position would be on abortion. President Fox is firmly against abortion, but has chose to not impose his opinion upon the republic as a whole. He has left it up to the individual states to decide what their personal abortion policies will be.
On average, according to the Secretariat of Health, 300,000 estimated legal abortions take place every year in Mexico; 1,500 women die a year from poorly performed abortions. However, other not as official sources claim that these numbers are at least two or three times higher. Health experts in Mexico claim that abortions contribute $500 million annually to doctors, nurses, and midwives. Studies also indicate that although a woman might have survived the abortion, there are numerous amounts of expenses dealing with problems in the woman's body long after she received a poorly performed abortion. Estimates say that nearly $20 million is spent annually for this cause.
Now that each state is given the chance to create its own policy of abortion, the debate is rising and will continue to do so. Each side of the issue is campaigning for states to side with them on the issue.
The pro-choice side has set goals to which they hope to obtain for women's rights. Grupo de Informacion en Reproducicion Elegida (GIRE) is a non-profit organization set up to inform Mexicans on womens reproductive rights, especially abortion. They have defined their objectives in swaying Mexico's political policy on abortion. They want to help Mexican men and women make informed and responsible decisions about reproduction. They hope to advise young people on how to be sexually responsible and help reduce the risk of sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancy. They hope to get involved with the rest of the world's pro-choice groups. At the moment, GIRE is the only openly pro-choice group in Mexico. They are targeting policy makers, political leaders, medical sectors, and young people. Many women's groups in Mexico have begun to speak on their views of women's rights as well. Feminist activist Duarte has publicly stated that women should be able to decide if they wish to have a child for it is their life and future that is at stake. Since the law made in Guanajuato, many women's groups have begun protesting to repeal the law. A pro-choice organization of Catholic women has stated that women's groups will block legislation of further pro-life laws.
A major pro-life group in Mexico is Pro-Vida. They have publicly applauded Guanajuato's legislatures for approving a law to penalize all abortions. Jorge Serrano, the president of this organization has stated that the state did what was right in protecting life from inception. Archbishop Sergio Obeso has stressed that the Catholic Church considers abortion to be murder. He pointed out that according to the church, a woman has the right to make decisions that affect her body, but when it comes to pregnancy one is dealing with another life and therefore it is no longer in the womans hands.
The debate is stronger then ever in Mexico over abortion. Representatives recently met to debate the issue. Among those there were a Bishop, the president of Pro-Vida, a representative of GIRE, and doctors, priests from Catholics for a Free Choice, lawyers, and even Mexican movie stars. The world will have to wait and see what happens within the individual states regarding the issue of abortion.