Mexico City allows first-trimester abortions, but other areas strengthen antiabortion laws

Nearly 34,000 women have undergone abortions in Mexico City since the capital city’s Legislature in 2007 voted to allow the termination of pregnancies in the first trimester.

But abortion remains mostly illegal outside of Mexico City, and states throughout the country are seeing successful antiabortion efforts. The Supreme Court’s validation of the Mexico City law last year has not stopped the antiabortion movement.

Abortion-rights activists fear many women will choose to seek abortions secretly, increasing their health risks. In addition, they object to women being treated as criminals for seeking abortions.

Read more from Times staff writer Ken Ellingwood, who reported on Mexico's abortion issue and the politics behind the legislative decisions.

-- Efrain Hernandez Jr.