Mexico City abortion measure about to go into effect

By a vote of 46-19 (with a single abstention) legislators in Mexico City approved a measure to permit abortions during the first trimester of pregnancy. The decision- which will become law once it’s published into Mexico’s official public record- has deeply divided the entire country, and even caught the attention of rock band Maná:

“Rock group Maná considered that the controversy over the depenalization of abortion would have been avoided had Mexican authorities paid more attention to sexual education and birth control methods.”

Mexican federal health authorities have said that Mexicans from outside Mexico City could travel there to get abortions, and assured that legal abortions could be conducted in both public and private medical clinics.

Abortion has become a very contentious issue in Latin America, especially since several countries such as Colombia and Argentina have recently relaxed anti-abortion laws. (Not all states are bucking the trend, however).

Links- ABC News, Nuevo Excelsior, International Herald Tribune, Milenio, Baltimore Sun, El Universal, The Latin Americanist, Guardian UK, Catholic Online

Image- Nuevo Excelsior (“My body is mine” says the slogan written on the stomach of a Mexican abortion activist yesterday)