Protests and Progress: The Abortion Rights Movement in Mexico

In a major turn of events in Mexico, which has one of the largest Catholic populations in the world, its Supreme Court last week decriminalized abortions.

The Supreme Court ruling is a milestone for Mexico’s feminist movement. But change might not come quickly: Abortion law is mostly administered at the state level in Mexico, much of the country remains culturally conservative, and many Mexican medical workers are morally opposed to abortion.

In a country where polls indicate most people don’t believe that abortion should be legal, what effect will the ruling have in practice?

Guest: Natalie Kitroeff, a correspondent covering Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean for The New York Times. 

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Background reading: 

• The Supreme Court’s decision to decriminalize abortion set a legal precedent for the nation. But applying it to all of Mexico’s states will be a long path. Read this article in Spanish here.
• Abortion may no longer be a crime, but a battle looms over whether public hospitals will be required to offer the procedure. Read this article in Spanish here.

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