Latin America

After Roe v. Wade, women in U.S. looking to Mexico for abortions

The two bordering countries are swapping roles on abortion rules: while the U.S. overturned Roe v. Wade, Mexican states are making on-request abortions more accessible

abortion abortions women mexico
A woman takes part during a 2022 protest to demand the decriminalization of abortion in the State of Mexico. Photo: Raj Valley/Alamy

For decades, Latin Americans have sought to cross the Rio Grande into the U.S. in search of a better life, or sometimes fleeing violence, poverty, or unemployment. From 50.5 million in 2010, the Hispanic population in the U.S. jumped to approximately 62.1 million in 2020, making up almost 19 percent of the entire country. However, little is discussed about the people crossing the border in the opposite direction.

Due to increasingly restrictive rules on legal and safe abortions in the U.S., some women from southern states have turned to Mexico as a solution to terminate their pregnancies.

This phenomenon began in 2021, when Mexico’s Supreme Court decriminalized abortion in a landmark decision. Indeed, with regards to abortion laws, the North American neighbors have been on very different paths in recent years.

As recent as 2019, the termination of pregnancy on request...

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