"Mexican States Crack Down on Abortion" by Elisabeth Malkan- the New York Times

Hannah Kerman

Yolanda Martinez was in jail for seven years on a homicide charge. Yolanda Martinez did not shoot anyone or kill anyone with a knife. She had an abortion, or at least, the state, Guanajauto convicted her of having an abortion. In Elisabeth Malkan's article "Mexican States Crack Down on Abortion," Elisabeth reveals that in Guanajuato women are routinely jailed for having stillborns or premature babies when it is assumed that they aborted a fetus. The article explains that a "climate (has been created) in which any pregnancy that does not end with a healthy baby raises suspicions about the mother."

Guanajauto is one of the seventeen Mexican states that created an amendment in 2008 banning abortion. This was a response to the legalization of abortion in Mexico City. In Roman Catholic ruled Guanajauto suspected cases of abortion are investigated thoroughly. Women's health advocates say that over the past 10 years, 166 cases of possible abortion have been investigated. Nine women were convicted and sent to jail.

Now, many Mexican women, having difficulties with their pregnancies are afraid to utilize healthcare.

Well, this article seems to touch explicitly on all three of those nifty things; Gender, Culture and Power.

Should the government have the power to constrict female reproductive rights? Is this a cultural issue that we cannot understand? Do women in Mexico support these laws as much as men do? What would happen if there were more women were involved in Mexican politics? Would the laws stay the same?

I believe women have the right to make decisions about their bodies and subsequently their lives. It is no one else's place to determine what another human being does with his or her body, and no politician can assume that a single solution will work for every individual. This is explicitly displayed in Malkan's article when she explains that earlier this year an 11 year old girl in one of the strict states was raped by her step-father. She didn't tell her mother until she was four months pregnant, and so with the new laws she cannot have an abortion.

But this article is about more than the question of making abortion illegal.

The article is also about what happens when a state abuses its powers. It seems that the Mexican states realize that making abortion illegal does not make it disappear. That is why Guanajauto and Veracruz have convicted and jailed women, some of whom have never even had abortions. They need to make an example, to scare those who would have attempted to have abortions. It's incredibly frightening; a modern government blatantly fudging documents, inciting fear, and randomly jailing its citizens for perceived crimes.

How can issues such issued be addressed? Should we write letters? Should we petition to have these women free and absolved? Is there anything that can be done when the resolution lies in a significant culture shift?