Abortion Rights in Mexico: MEXPAZ 7/23/98 Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit source: frontcomunes@laneta.apc.org Thu Jul 23 23:20:44 1998 MEXPAZ ANALYSIS #182 "Heartbeat of Mexico" July 23, 1998 HEALTH SECRETARIAT STIRS UP DEBATE ON ABORTION - Secretary De la Fuente Calls For Public Discussion - Catholic Bishops Censure Secretary: Morality Not Up for Debate - NGO's Offer Information, Encourage Tolerance The debate over abortion in Mexico unleashed several weeks ago by Health Secretary Juan Ramo'n de la Fuente cranked up a notch on Monday, July 20, when Subsecretary of Health Jose' Narro Robles reiterated the Secretariat's posture that abortion is fundamentally a "public health" issue. De la Fuente had called for open national debate on the topic several weeks ago. Since then, a wide range of national actors have expressed their opinions on the subject. Guadalajara-based Cardinal Juan Sandoval In~iguez has taken the lead on the part of the Catholic Church in denouncing De la Fuente, stating that "[the functionary] surely lacks morality because abortion is a crime, abortion is killing, and killing the innocent isn't right for any reason" (La Jornada, July 22). Javier Lozano Barraga'n, a Mexican priest with a high-ranking Vatican post, offered a further argument against abortion: its implementation would serve the interests of the United States and other "powerful countries" that seek to promote abortion as part of a "foreign policy that seeks to put breaks on Latin American demography" (Reforma, July 22). That is, industrialized countries are using abortion as a eugenic method to keep developing nations' populations down. The Church, then, sees itself not only as a guardian morality, but also as a champion of Third World causes. For its part, the Health Secretariat has pronounced its stand that large number of illnesses and deaths caused by clandestine abortions make the problem essentially one of public health. As a governmental agency of an officially secular state, it must assume the discussion in terms of policy, not morality. Several politicians have echoed the Secretariat's convocation for debate. PRI senator Elba Esther Gordillo declared, "These are not the times for taboos". The PRD reiterated its general support for the right to choice. Secretaries for Education, Health and Social Development, Clara Jusidman, and Integral Family Development, Isabel Molina --both members of Ca'rdenas' team in the D.F.-- concurred that public, "unemotional" discussion on abortion are "urgent". Even PAN senator Trinidad Lanz Ca'rdenas suggested undertaking a nation-wide citizen consultation on the theme, upon the results of which "we would have to legislate in consequence, although one might be personally opposed." Lanz, though, was bucking his party on abortion; as national leader Felipe Caldero'n Hinojosa reminded, the party has explicitly rejected legalizing abortion in its 1997-2000 platform. However, non-governmental organizations (NGO's), particularly women's and health organizations, are far ahead of the parties in their analysis and proposals on abortion. These groups have dedicated time, money and effort into divulging statistics on abortion --particularly complications arising from illegal abortions-- and encouraging an atmosphere of tolerance conducive to rational debate. During a recent forum in Morelia, Michoaca'n, on "Abortion, Problem of Public Health and Social Justice", renowned feminist Marta Lamas pointed out that between 800,000 and two million women a year seek abortions, of which 90% consider themselves Catholic. Lamas declared that Mexican society was "mature" enough to confront the debate. Among the groups in the forefront of the information campaign are the Women's Health Network, the National Forum for Women and Population Policy, and the Information Group on Reproductive Choice (GIRE). Of course, other NGO's allied to the Church --most notably Pro-Vida-- have reiterated their traditional opposition to abortion. (Information taken from La Jornada, July 21, 22; Reforma, July 22, 23.) ABORTION IN NUMBERS The following are some relevant statistics being considered in the debate on abortion: - An estimated 800,000 to 2,000,000 women seek abortions (legal and illegal) per year. - Between 17%-20% of all women in their fertile years have had an abortion - 17% of all pregnancies end in abortion - 25% of services given in public hospitals are for complications arising from abortions - 15% of officially registered abortions are for minors of age - 460,000 pregnancies occur each year for minors of age - 30%-45% of abortions result in complications, while only 20-30% are hospitalized for treatment (Information taken from La Jornada, July 22, p. 43, based on surveys and reports from GIRE, Health Secretariat and the Alan Guttmacher Institute) - 119,000 hospitalizations occur yearly because of complications arising from abortion (no information was reported on the number of deaths) - In Mexico City alone, 4,600 women were attended because of abortion-related complications in 1997, while the figure for the first six months of 1998 is 2,378 - The Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS) attends 63,000 patients yearly for poorly practiced abortions - 1,500 hospital and health unit beds, one-third of the nation-wide total of beds assigned to reproductive health, are occupied daily by women who experience problems arising from clandestine abortions - 65% of all Mexican women who have abortions are married, and 70% have more than two children - At least 500 pregnant women have AIDS - 82% of all Mexicans feel that the decision to abort is the woman's or the couple's. (Information taken from Reforma, July 22, p. 14A, based on reports from the Guttmacher Institute, the Women's Health Network, the National Institute for Perinatology, the GIRE). LEGAL STATUS OF ABORTION Legislation on abortion varies widely from state to state; the national Political Constitution is silent on the subject. Although abortion is theoretically legal in all 31 states and the Federal District where the pregnancy is a result of rape, state penal and civil codes differ on permitting voluntary termination of pregnancies for other causes: - Genetic Deformation, permitted in Coahuila, Colima, Chiapas, Durango, Oaxaca, Puebla, Quintana Roo, Veracruz and Yucata'n. - Grave Harm to Mother's Health (Guerrero, Hidalgo, Jalisco, State of Mexico, Nayarit, Nuevo Leo'n, San Luis Potosi', Tlaxcala and Zacatecas). - Risk of Death to Mother (all states except Guanajuato, Guerrero, Hidalgo and Quere'taro). - Economic Reasons (permitted only in Yucata'n, only when the women successfully adduces economic motives and has at least three children). (Information taken from Reforma, July 22.) However, even in states where abortions are permitted, clandestine operations continue to flourish largely because of requirements that a woman seek court authorization for the abortion. In Hidalgo, for instance, the first court authorization for abortion was granted last September in the case of an 11-year-old girl raped by her step-father. Thus, abortion is not an exception to the divergence between law and practice that afflicts other areas of public life. ANALYSIS An essential contradiction looms as an enormous shadow over the public debate on abortion. While an overwhelming percentage of Mexicans declare themselves Catholic, 82% feel that the decision belongs not to the Church or to the state, but to the mother or the couple, and up to two million women seek abortions yearly. That is, despite the Church's discourse promoting a unified, universal morality beyond the arena of public debate or personal reflection, Mexicans treat the decision to abort --both in opinion polls and in practice-- as a private matter. Some commentators have noted a de facto "cultural depenalization" of abortion: independently of religious or legal prohibitions on abortion, it is practiced in significant numbers. A wise public policy, then, should take into account two key factors: 1) there is no public consensus on the legality or morality of abortion, whether considered as abstract issue or practice, and 2) penalizing abortion (or making legal authorization difficult) results in serious harm to the health of many women who undergo clandestine abortions. The moral issue is thorny, especially in a society in the throes of an ongoing struggle between tradition and transformation. But where legal prohibitions against abortion no longer reflect ethical consensus, on the one hand, and occasion grave damage, on the other, debate over those laws is appropriate. David Crow Javier Medina Fronteras Comunes e-mail: frontcomunes@laneta.apc.org ================================================================= NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us 339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012 http://www.blythe.org e-mail: nyt@blythe.org ================================================================= nytcamer-07.26.98-11:22:55-18795