Population Council Research that makes a difference

"An Island of Liberty": Legal Abortion in Mexico City

Marking the anniversary of abortion decriminalization. The Population Council office in Mexico, in collaboration with the other members of the National Pro-Choice Alliance and Mexico City's Ministry of Health (MOH), recently held a one-day conference to commemorate the four-year anniversary of the decriminalization of abortion in Mexico City and the Ministry of Health's ILE (Legal Termination of Pregnancy, or Interrupción Legal del Embarazo in Spanish) program.

Research findings shared. At this landmark conference, held 17 March 2011, researchers, medical providers, and members of civil society gathered to share experiences and to review research conducted to date about the ILE program.

Sexual and reproductive rights respected. The conference was inaugurated by Dr. Armando Ahued, Mexico City's minister of health; Dr. Leticia Bonifaz, attorney general for Mexico City; and Dr. Sandra García, director of the Population Council’s Mexico office. In her comments, Dr. Bonifaz referred to Mexico City as "an island of liberty" in which the sexual and reproductive rights of women are respected and upheld.

Dr. Ahued affirmed the Ministry of Health's continued support of the ILE program, and Dr. García emphasized the need for continued rigorous scientific research to document the experiences of women and providers.

Service quality rated highly. Evidence presented at the conference included findings delivered by Dr. Davida Becker from the University of California, San Francisco, demonstrating that women who accessed services provided by the ILE program rated the service quality highly, at 8.8 on a scale from 0 to 10. Dr. Claudia Díaz Olavarrieta from the National Institute of Public Health (INSP) in Mexico City discussed the analysis of a sample of more than 20,000 women who accessed ILE program services between 2007 and 2010. This analysis was a collaborative project between the INSP, the Mexico City MOH, and the Population Council.

Medical abortion highly acceptable. Another study sponsored by the World Health Organization and carried out jointly by the Population Council and the INSP showed that the medical termination of pregnancy with misoprostol alone was highly acceptable among both women and ILE providers. Similarly, the preliminary results of a study conducted by Gynuity Health Projects in collaboration with research teams at MOH health centers evaluating a combined regimen of mifepristone and misoprostol demonstrated high rates of efficacy and acceptability by women, consistent with the published literature.

Opposition from anti-choice groups. Maria Eugenia Romero, the director of Equidad de Género: Ciudadanía, Trabajo y Familia, a member of the National Pro-Choice Alliance, shed light on the biased information that Provida, a local anti-choice organization, uses to discourage women from seeking an ILE procedure. Women reported finding this verbal opposition aggressive and unwanted.

Changing political landscape. The conference closed with reflections about the importance of the political future of the ILE program, especially in light of the 2012 presidential elections, by expert panelists Dr. Marta Lamas, Maria Consuelo Mejía, Dr. Emilio Alvarez Icaza, and Dr. Leticia Bonifaz. The ILE program has been certified since 2009 by the National Abortion Federation, and the research presented at the conference reaffirms the program’s excellence and commitment to women's rights in Mexico City. Several of the studies presented at the conference will be published later this year in a special section of the Council's international peer-reviewed journal Studies in Family Planning.

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About the Population Council
The Population Council confronts critical health and development issues—from stopping the spread of HIV to improving reproductive health and ensuring that young people lead full and productive lives. Through biomedical, social science, and public health research in 50 countries, we work with our partners to deliver solutions that lead to more effective policies, programs, and technologies that improve lives around the world. Established in 1952 and headquartered in New York, the Council is a nongovernmental, nonprofit organization governed by an international board of trustees.

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Media contact

Diane Rubino: drubino@popcouncil.org; +1 212 339 0617