Mexico Orgs Helping Americans Get Abortion Meds – Should More Countries Do the Same?

What’s the story?

• Organizations in Mexico are intensifying efforts to help Americans seeking abortions after the Supreme Court ended the constitutional right to abortion and states began to immediately implement severe restrictions on abortion access.
• Volunteer organizations that have helped thousands of people across Mexico access abortion medication without visiting a clinic are now expanding their model to the U.S., training volunteers, distributing pills, and providing networks of support outside of the traditional medical system.

Abortion in Mexico

• The acompañamiento model in Mexico grew out of necessity when abortion was both criminalized and widely stigmatized. While abortion is still criminalized in 22 states of Mexico, there has been a wave of reforms in recent years. According to the Texas Tribune:

“Mexican doctors, government officials and advocates alike credit the accompaniment model with helping open the door to change, citing its role in empowering communities, filling the information void to fight stigma and framing access to abortion medication as fundamental.”

• This support system of networks distribute pills and provide guidance on how to take them along with medical advice informed by doctors. Abortion-inducing medication is much more accessible in Mexico because it is available without a prescription, unlike in the U.S.
• Las Libres, one of the earliest abortion support networks in Mexico, says it has helped at least 1,500 women in the U.S. this year. Founder Verónica Cruz said:

“In the U.S., people may fear abortion itself because it is being restricted, but overall I think it’s about the stigma of having abortions at home and beliefs that abortions are only safe if they occur in a clinic…the United States is very late to this advancement.”

Foreign aid

• Mexico isn’t the only country looking to help Americans seeking abortions. Other organizations sending FDA-approved medication abortion pills in the mail, like the international-based group Aid Access, are proving to be a formidable workaround to state bans. Aid Access reported that following the Roe reversal, requests for pills increased from roughly 600 a day to 4,000.

The big picture

• Self-managed medication abortion has been recognized by the World Health Organization as a “non-invasive and highly acceptable” option. The WHO recommends that individuals in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy can take abortion-inducing medication without direct medical supervision. 
• In the U.S., the Food and Drug Administration allows medication abortion up to 10 weeks of pregnancy and requires it to be prescribed by a certified health care provider. Medication abortion accounted for roughly half of all abortions performed in the U.S. in 2020.
• It is against the law for medical professionals in the U.S. to prescribe abortion pills to women in states where they are illegal. A 2021 law in Texas prohibits anyone providing abortion medication who is not a physician, as well as delivering pills through the mail. However, it is unclear how exactly states will stop deliveries from international physicians, pharmacies, and aid organizations.
• Mary Ziegler, professor at Florida State University College of Law who specializes in reproductive rights, told the AP:

“Medication abortion will be where access to abortion is decided…That’s going to be the battleground that decides how enforceable abortion bans are.”

What do you think?

How do you feel about organizations outside of the U.S. helping Americans seeking abortions?

-Casey Dawson

(Photo Credit: Robin Marty / Flickr)