Inside Mexican Feminists’ Fight For Safe And Legal Abortion

Abortion had been a national crime successful Mexico since 1931, but each authorities wrong nan state permitted abortion for pregnancies that resulted from rape, and others allowed it if nan life of nan mother was successful threat aliases successful nan arena of terrible fetal anomalies. So erstwhile nan legislature successful Guanajuato, a authorities successful cardinal Mexico, projected successful 2000 to revoke nan lone objection to nan state’s abortion ban, Verónica “Vero” Cruz thought thing on nan lines of “Oh hellhole no.” Eliminating nan proviso would person resulted successful a full prohibition successful a spot plagued by intersexual violence, and Cruz, a respected activistic and nan leader of Las Libres, a precocious formed feminist corporate successful Guanajuato, was not astir to fto nan meager sliver of abortion authorities that existed successful her authorities shrink immoderate further, aliases women’s well-being to beryllium utilized arsenic a governmental pawn. Something had to beryllium done.

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The projected betterment had travel down amid a shakeup of Mexico’s governmental system. For seventy years, nan Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) had held near-total power done a instrumentality of corruption, cronyism, intimidation, and propaganda, a reign referred to by nan Nobel laureate writer Mario Vargas Llosa arsenic “the cleanable dictatorship” because its autocracy was camouflaged by nan quality of democracy. Following a parade of corruption scandals, pervasive electoral fraud and elector suppression, violence, and economical crises, however, PRI’s stranglehold complete Mexican governance had ebbed, and a pro-democracy governmental faction, led by nan National Action Party (PAN), gained strength. PAN was a conservative, anti-abortion statement pinch adjacent ties to nan Roman Catholic Church, and successful nan 2000 election, its statesmanlike candidate, Vicente Fox, campaigned connected promises of combatting corruption and antiauthoritarian betterment and won nan predetermination successful a pivotal victory.

When a female had an abortion…she was taking a measurement to asseverate her quality authorities and dignity, and that was a radical, and radicalizing, moment.

The mustachioed Fox was primitively from Guanajuato and had served arsenic nan state’s governor. From nan start, he had made his guidance to abortion good known, erstwhile stating that abortion should beryllium allowed if nan life of nan female aliases nan fetus was astatine stake, but not for rape survivors because “women who are raped extremity up wanting and falling successful emotion pinch their small ones.” Shortly aft Fox was elected, nan Guanajuato Congress had approved reforms to destruct nan rape objection to nan state’s abortion law, an action wide seen arsenic a trial of nan possibilities of passing comparable authorities nationwide. But if legislators had thought nan reforms would sail done without pushback, they quickly realized they were mistaken.

Cruz, a well-connected and indomitable societal worker, and a mini cohort of feminist compatriots who opposed nan legislation, had started convening successful cafés and restaurants astir Guanajuato’s historical center. Over chickenhearted verde enchiladas astatine a celebrated gathering spot called El Truco Siete, nan group discussed what a feminist activistic group that centered abortion could look for illustration successful a conservative, Catholic authorities successful a blimpish Catholic state wherever nan Church wielded sizeable influence. Abortion was stigmatized, but a recent, high-profile lawsuit had shown that galore people, moreover those who opposed abortion, believed location should beryllium exceptions, while also illuminating nan truth that nan ineligible correct to an abortion aft rape was not nan aforesaid arsenic entree to it.

On July 31, 1999, a man had surgery into a location successful Mexicali, nan superior metropolis successful nan Mexican authorities of Baja California, and entered nan chamber of nan resident, a female named Janet who was dormant pinch her 2 children, and Janet’s younger sister, Paulina. Janet woke up to nan emotion of a weapon connected her cervix and a man, his look covered by a scarf, demanding that she springiness him money. After he tied Janet and her children up, he raped Paulina, who was thirteen years old.

When he had left, nan family called nan police, and Paulina was later taken to a organization clinic, wherever a trial revealed she was pregnant. She wanted an abortion, which nan expert said he would supply if granted authorization from nan authorities prosecutor’s office, and they issued an bid for nan abortion to beryllium performed astatine Mexicali General Hospital. In early October, Paulina was admitted to nan hospital, but administrators disputed, deflected, and delayed nan process for a week, claiming nan family, who had constricted means, had to bargain medicine to dilate her cervix and that nan ultrasound instrumentality was broken. When infirmary head Dr. Ismael Ávila Íñiguez intervened, telling nan main obstetrician to travel nan authorities’ order, nan obstetrician resigned. Then, 1 aft nan other, each gynecologist astatine nan infirmary refused to execute nan process arsenic well. Paulina was besides visited by 2 women professing to beryllium authorities societal workers who showed her a schematic anti-abortion movie called The Silent Scream (the aforesaid movie that had supposedly radicalized Randall Terry, nan laminitis of Operation Rescue, successful nan 1980s), and erstwhile they visited nan authorities lawyer wide to plead for help, he drove Paulina and her mother to a church, wherever a leader told them abortion was a misdeed and grounds for excommunication.

When it was clear they still would not alteration their minds, nan lawyer wide signed a caller bid for nan abortion. Paulina’s room was scheduled, but minutes earlier nan appointment, nan infirmary head told her mother that it came pinch nan risks of sterility and death. Frightened for her daughter’s life, Paulina’s mother did not motion nan authorization. “I thought it was amended for my girl to person nan babe than to die,” she said. “Probably thing would hap to her, but if everyone was truthful angry astir nan operation, possibly nan doctors would do it severely connected purpose.” The family returned location and nan infirmary scheduled a cesarean conception for April 14. Paulina would beryllium forced to transportation nan gestation to word and springiness commencement against her will.

Paulina’s plight attracted national, and international, attraction and became a rallying outcry for activists. It was caller successful people’s minds when, 1 period aft nan statesmanlike predetermination successful July 2000, PAN representatives successful Guanajuato passed nan unprecedented amendment making abortion forbidden for rape survivors, arsenic good arsenic imposing situation sentences connected women and providers. The guidance from abortion authorities advocates was fury and apprehension complete nan broader implications. It was suspected that Fox had directed nan preamble of nan measure himself, though he insisted it was a section rumor successful which he had nary involvement. “We called connected group to not ballot for Fox,” Marta Lamas, nan head of GIRE (Grupo de Información en Reproducción Elegida), a salient abortion authorities group based successful Mexico City, said astatine nan time. “We were acrophobic of this. Really, we are opening to spot our fears confirmed. What is happening successful Guanajuato throws uncertainty connected whether nan PAN will really beryllium capable to person nan type of authorities Fox has promised.”

On August 3, 2000, nan time nan measure was passed, Cruz and her chap feminist activists successful Guanajuato prepared for action. They settled connected a name—Las Libres, which meant “the free ones”—and solidified their mission: to conflict for legal, free, and safe abortion for everyone, starting pinch victims of rape. Cruz, who was twenty-nine astatine nan time, coordinated guidance to nan law, marshaling resources, sounding nan siren successful nan media, and organizing large-scale, sustained, and vehement protests successful nan streets of Guanajuato and Mexico City. Overnight, Las Libres became a unit to beryllium reckoned with, and nan group successful powerfulness hadn’t seen them coming.

Scrambling to respond to nan outcry, nan politician of Guanajuato issued a nationalist sentiment canvass astir abortion, including a mobility astir whether nan measure should beryllium returned to nan legislature for much study. Sixty-eight percent of respondents agreed. The authorities government utilized nan feedback arsenic justification for backing down from nan measure without admitting that they had misjudged nan authorities of nan situation. On August 29, nan politician announced that he was sending nan measure backmost to nan authorities legislature for further study, which amounted to a veto. It would not go law. “This is simply a awesome time for each women successful Mexico and a informing to nan PAN,” Cruz said successful an question and reply pinch The New York Times. “In conscionable a fewer months, they will clasp nan agency of nan presidency, and now it should beryllium clear that they cannot enforce their will connected nan people.”

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Cruz is simply a compact female pinch an indomitable tone and a consciousness of mischief. Her peers routinely picture her arsenic “fearless,” arsenic nan hang-ups and anxieties that springiness different group region time off her unfazed. Fierce yet warm, she plainly calls retired nan things she thinks are hypocritical aliases cruel and carries others on pinch nan spot of her convictions. There are nary obstacles, conscionable insignificant barricades to maneuver around, and she has unerring religion successful her expertise to prevail. She has ne'er been timid astir her activity aliases her belief successful its value and refuses to beryllium cowed into meekness erstwhile it is others who are wrong. Like Gomperts, her characteristic combines a beardown consciousness of justness and original reasoning pinch assertiveness and determination. She is simply a problem-solver and personification who forges up pinch what she believes to beryllium right. If location are consequences, she deals pinch them, but ne'er lets her decisions beryllium guided by be aware aliases dictated by authority figures. In a documentary astir Las Libres, a workfellow referred to a sociological research wherever group were put into rooms that were crooked: astir group adapted and aligned themselves pinch nan crookedness, but each erstwhile successful a while, personification walked into nan room who saw nan crookedness for what it was and pointed retired which measurement was up. Cruz, they said, was that person.

She was calved connected February 1, 1971, to a ample family and grew up successful Guanajuato, whose historical halfway is simply a charming erstwhile metallic mining municipality pinch assemblage architecture and colorful, blocky houses stacked for illustration Legos connected nan melodramatic hillside. Stone tunnels tally underneath nan city, which brims pinch theaters, performing arts centers, and lush plot squares. The puerility location of nan creator Diego Rivera, and tract of nan yearly Cervantes show (referred to arsenic “Latin America’s biggest taste event”), nan metropolis draws group from each complete nan world for theater, dance, music, films, literature, gastronomy, thoroughfare theater, circus, art, and more. On immoderate fixed evening, moreover erstwhile nan show is not running, roving musicians successful velvet puffed sleeves and breeches execute spontaneous concerts successful nationalist squares, calling group to travel them troubadour style arsenic they promenade through, and under, nan town.

Cruz was nan 4th of her parents’ 8 children and willful from a young age. When she was two, she cried because her older siblings were going disconnected to schoolhouse without her—so overmuch that it led her mother to inquire nan vicinity female who ran a kindergarten if Cruz could commencement attending early. Even erstwhile she was a mini child, it seemed unfair to Cruz that it was chiefly nan girls who had to thief pinch chores astir nan house, and she chafed against nan different expectations for boys and girls and nan gendered section of labor. Like her older sisters, she attended an all-girls Catholic schoolhouse connected scholarship, wherever she was taught by nuns pinch a beardown societal conscience. Cruz later thought of them arsenic her first feminist teachers. Their eagerness to prosecute pinch their students astir issues for illustration poorness and injustice instilled a belief that they could beryllium a unit to correct wrongs.

Cruz was outgoing and organization minded, and successful inferior high, she and her friends collected in-kind donations from their neighbors and raised money for families successful need. She besides tagged on pinch her mother arsenic she participated successful a tanda, an informal lending circle successful which a group of women contributed a humble magnitude of money to a cookware each week, and each personnel took turns receiving nan collected funds. Visiting nan homes of nan different women, Cruz heard stories astir nan hardships successful their lives, nan unit they suffered aliases nan struggles they faced because they couldn’t publication aliases write. A precocious and compassionate kid, she offered proposal and taught immoderate of nan women nan basics of literacy.

After school, alternatively of going home, wherever she had to lavation dishes aliases make beds, she preferred to walk her afternoons pinch nan nuns, who—with nary husbands aliases children to attraction for and an expertise to walk their free clip reading, talking, strumming guitars, watching TV, playing volleyball, cooking, and traveling, each pinch nan backdrop of a beautiful convent—seemed blissfully free to her. But past her danasiwa ran retired and she switched to nationalist school, where, arsenic she put it, “she discovered nan beingness of boys.” Before long, she didn’t want to go a nun anymore.

Cruz had ever aspired to spell to college, thing her mother had dreamed of for her daughters, and she grew up prizing education. Although her parents did not bargain into machismo (the societal conception that men must beryllium strong, virile, dominant, and protect nan vulnerable, and women are considered weaker and subservient), her begetter didn’t deliberation it was worthwhile for girls to prosecute higher education. His family had scrimped and saved money truthful his sister could spell to college, and erstwhile she sewage married, started a family, and stopped moving extracurricular nan home, he had felt that nan money had gone to waste. Cruz’s mother disagreed; she wanted her daughters to beryllium capable to support themselves truthful that nary matter what happened successful their lives, they could beryllium independent. That was what Cruz wanted, too, and aft graduation, she enrolled successful a societal activity programme astatine nan José Cardijn School of Social Work successful León, nan state’s astir populous city, which progressive spending extended clip successful nan field.

After graduating successful 1990, Cruz was drawn to moving pinch agrarian communities, partially because her grandparents owned a ranch and she loved to walk clip successful nan country. She spent 4 years arsenic a societal worker astatine a organization preschool programme and successful 1994 accepted a occupation astatine an statement focused connected agrarian development. Through this work, Cruz noticed that women were dying from cervical crab astatine precocious rates, and that 1 of nan contributing factors was husbands not allowing their wives to get gynecological screenings because they didn’t want antheral doctors to analyse their genitals. Cruz thought acquisition and speech could thief break down nan stigma, and she organized intersexual wellness workshops, which brought different pervasive rumor to her attention: teenage pregnancy. At 1 section school, nan teachers needed twenty-five students to clasp class, but students were perpetually dropping retired to person babies. The teachers invited Cruz to thatch a people connected intersexual acquisition and civilian rights, but she said 1 people wasn’t enough—she wanted to give an full time to nan subject. When she did, nan consequence was overwhelmingly affirmative and she received much invitations from schools astir nan state. She knew her workshops were really resonating erstwhile she returned to schools and talked pinch students who joked astir really they’d surgery up pinch their loser boyfriends, which she took arsenic a motion that they were considering different futures for themselves and felt empowered to clasp disconnected getting pregnant.

It wasn’t conscionable secondary schools that requested Cruz’s services. In 1 community, Las Cruces, she asked simple school-aged girls wherever they wanted to beryllium successful 5 years and they each responded “Salvatierra,” nan nearest municipality pinch a school. There was nary mediate schoolhouse wherever they lived and it was excessively costly for galore of them to travel, truthful Cruz established a danasiwa money to support their education. In a municipality called La Luz, she taught a seminar connected civilian authorities to first graders, past second, past third, and past nan full student body. Soon after, nan mothers, who heard astir nan shop from their kids, told nan main they wanted to study astir their authorities too. Cruz started school them each Tuesday afternoon.

At first erstwhile nan women gathered, each would say, “My hubby is nan best,” “He’s truthful great,” and each nan different women successful nan group would motion on successful agreement. But complete time, they started to unfastened up and stock much honestly astir nan unit successful their homes. A fewer had attempted to study nan maltreatment to nan police, but erstwhile they went to nan constabulary station, nan officers had asked if they’d done thing to merit specified treatment. Cruz was appalled by that consequence and suggested they each march down to nan constabulary position together to request amended treatment. The women, emboldened by Cruz’s condemnation and their corporate energy, agreed, and erstwhile they confronted nan constabulary officers, they acted differently, solicitously even—“Oh please, ma’am, beryllium down, show america what happened.” The women realized location was spot successful numbers. When they acted successful solidarity, they had power. As for nan husbands successful nan community, they sensed that nan dynamics had shifted. If they behaved badly, nan women threatened to show Cruz, which to them was a bigger threat than telling nan police.

Around this time, 1 of Cruz’s friends and colleagues approached her pinch an opportunity. After nan 1995 Fourth World Conference connected Women successful Beijing, which was convened by nan United Nations to group strategical objectives and actions for nan world advancement of gender equality, nan feminist web Millennium had organized workshops and meetings successful Mexico City to talk nan issues that had been raised and really to move forward. Cruz’s friend thought she was amended fresh to participate successful nan Millennium meetings than she was, and asked if she wanted to beryllium involved. Cruz said yes without a 2nd thought.

The acquisition proved to beryllium transformative. Abortion was 1 of nan main topics up for discussion, and it was eye-opening to perceive it discussed truthful openly. Growing up, Cruz had overheard women, arsenic they swept nan streets and gossiped extracurricular her house, talk astir “malas camas,” aliases “bad beds,” referring to miscarriages, but hadn’t known what they meant. She had besides attended a younker religion retreat wherever nan belief leaders had spoken dramatically astir abortion and everyone (except for Cruz) collapsed down crying astir nan “poor babies.” Outside of those vague allusions, abortion had existed successful nan dark. Now attending nan Millennium meetings crystallized her consciousness of really each nan issues they were discussing—gender-based violence, cervical cancer, teenage pregnancy, miscarriage, abortion—intersected, and were underlaid by nan mobility of whether women had agency complete their bodies. Invigorated by Millennium’s mission, she became a location coordinator for nan web and later went connected to presume nan domiciled of nationalist coordinator.

Fighting to grow ineligible abortion remained 1 of her cardinal goals, but it was nan task of a lifetime, and she knew location were group who could not hold for that hypothetical and distant achievement. Also she was skeptical of a rights-based model that made entree to abortion contingent connected a “hollow ineligible shell” successful which nan correct to an abortion had thing to do pinch nan expertise to get one. She was much drawn to nonstop action and to supporting group successful nan spot wherever she lived, which would not instantly hap done nan governmental and judicial systems that she saw arsenic fundamentally, intrinsically unjust.

Las Libres was claiming abortion arsenic necessary, arsenic a unit for good, arsenic thing that would beryllium nary matter what nan authorities did.

As Paulina’s communicative had demonstrated, moreover nan rape objection that Las Libres had fought to clasp was meaningless if personification who had been raped was incapable to person an abortion done ineligible channels. Cruz knew that not each personification who had endured intersexual battle was consenting aliases capable to jump done nan basal hoops to person a ineligible abortion, involving nan constabulary and state’s lawyer and infirmary administration, aliases could spend to recreation to nan US for attraction aliases salary for backstage doctors. At nan time, forbidden abortion caused nan deaths of 15 100 women a twelvemonth successful Mexico, and she wanted to fig retired a measurement to thief group who had go pregnant from rape to safely extremity their pregnancies without involving nan authorities and aesculapian authorities successful specified an friendly decision. She started by searching for doctors successful Guanajuato who mightiness beryllium consenting to supply abortion attraction for free, canvassing nan metropolis and knocking connected nan doors of aesculapian offices until she yet recovered a female gynecologist who agreed to dainty Las Libres patients astatine nary charge. The group started spreading nan connection that they had a measurement to thief rape survivors entree safe and discreet abortions among trusted friends astir town, including galore who had participated successful nan protests alongside them and professors astatine nan Universidad de Guanajuato, nan ample assemblage successful nan historical halfway of town.

When group reached retired to Las Libres for thief accessing an abortion, they were almost ever tense and unsure of what to expect. There were a batch of misconceptions, doubts, and myths swimming nether nan heavy expanse of silence, and women were often frightened of nan procedures and envisioned worst-case scenarios. To help, Cruz accompanied them to their appointments. As nan Janes had while moving nan Service, she stayed successful nan room to clasp patients’ hands, connection comfort, and proceed to support them afterward. “The astir reassuring point was knowing they’d beryllium location from opening to end,” a diligent named Fatima recalled. “They wouldn’t time off maine hanging. That’s why I ever felt safe and ne'er felt scared.”

That year, nan gynecologist Las Libres worked pinch attended an world gathering of OB/GYNs successful Europe, wherever she learned astir a supplier that could beryllium utilized to safely and efficaciously induce an abortion. Cytotec, a marque sanction for misoprostol, was registered arsenic an ulcer medicine and sold successful Mexican pharmacies without a prescription; anyone could locomotion successful and bargain it. When she returned to Mexico, nan expert took advantage of that knowledge and began offering medicine abortions. As Cruz stood successful nan exam room pinch patients, listening to nan expert picture really to return nan medicine and what to expect, it occurred to her that nan protocol wasn’t each that complicated. There was nary logic why she couldn’t guideline women done nan process herself aliases why they couldn’t procure and return nan medicine extracurricular of a doctor’s office. Cruz shared her thought pinch nan gynecologist, who agreed to effort nan attack out. For a time, Cruz would fto women cognize astir misoprostol—how to procure and return it—and support them done nan process while nan expert would supply consultations and follow-up attraction to those who needed it, specified arsenic an ultrasound to corroborate gestation aliases monitoring of dense bleeding. If nan exemplary worked well, they’d support going.

With that, Las Libres moved abortion retired of nan session and into nan community. Although wide available, Cytotec was expensive, costing a fewer 1000 pesos ($200 to $300 USD), but nan boxes contained twenty-eight pills each. The misoprostol-only protocol for medicine abortion was to return 4 200 mcg tablets buccally (dissolved successful nan cheek), sublingually (under nan tongue), aliases vaginally, and repetition that dosage each 3 hours, 3 aliases 4 times, until nan gestation passed. Most group needed 12 to sixteen misoprostol tablets to complete their abortions, truthful Cruz asked nan women who could spend to bargain Cytotec to clasp connected to their other pills and donate them to women who could not. She besides asked them to supply support to different women, informed by their ain experiences. Many were terrified by nan imaginable of taking nan medication, unsure really achy it would beryllium and what nan beingness acquisition would consciousness like, if it would work, aliases if location would beryllium semipermanent effects. Cruz wanted them to perceive from others who had safely navigated nan process connected what to expect and that they would beryllium okay.

A halfway pillar of Cruz’s attack was besides to combat nan shame and stigma that truthful often surrounded abortion. Seeking an abortion could beryllium an isolating acquisition without personification to confide in, and pinch Las Libres, group ne'er had to interest astir being unsocial aliases judged, because those guiding them had had abortions themselves and were uniquely equipped to connection validation and reassurance that nan determination was nan correct one, without mentation aliases justification. Society mightiness declare that abortion was wrong, that it was a crime, that it violated belief edicts and came pinch dire consequences, but Las Libres existed abstracted from that. When a female had an abortion, they believed, she was taking a measurement to asseverate her quality authorities and dignity, and that was a radical, and radicalizing, moment. “The women would almost ever travel backmost aft nan abortion and ask, ‘If I was capable to person my abortion successful a safe and free way, we each ought to beryllium capable to do nan same,’” Cruz said. “‘What tin I do to guarantee different female tin person this freedom?’ That was nan lightbulb moment. This was nan answer. Women would stock their experiences. That was vital.” They became links successful a chain, paying it guardant and breaking down taboos and barriers 1 astatine a time.

The general title for this attack was nan modelo integral de acompañamiento para un aborto seguro (MIAAS)—which translates to nan “comprehensive support exemplary for safe abortion”—or much commonly and concisely, acompañamiento or “accompaniment.” Although nonstop action—facilitating self-managed abortions—was astatine nan core, Las Libres had broader aims. In her book Abortion Beyond nan Law, sociologist Naomi Braine explained really accompanying personification done a self-managed abortion “enacts a profound disruption of organization unit resulting from a rule and/or a criminalized context”—effectively, nan group successful nan accompaniment networks were subverting and undermining not only nan law, but nan thought that laws could dictate what personification did pinch their assemblage successful nan first place. Las Libres was claiming abortion arsenic necessary, arsenic a unit for good, arsenic thing that would beryllium nary matter what nan authorities did. Over successful Europe, Gomperts was gearing up to make a akin connection pinch her adjacent vessel campaign.

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From Access: Inside the Abortion Underground and nan Sixty-Year Battle for Reproductive Freedom by Rebecca Grant. Copyright © 2025. Reprinted by support of Avid Reader Press, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, Inc.