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September 22, 2008

Before abortion was legalized in Mexico City, women went to great lengths to end their pregnancies. This is the story of one of those women.

Valentina, now 31, moved from a small Mixtec Indian town to Mexico City as a young woman, in the hopes of being able to bring home lots of money to her parents. But after she had moved and it was too late, she found out that the rumors she had heard from her friends about the city being full of opportunities weren’t true.

Valentina became pregnant, and she worked until she was eight months into the pregnancy. After working as a single mother for five years, she started dating José Luis, who she later married. Valentina and José Luis decided to only have one more child, but shortly after Sofia, Valentina’s second daughter, was born, Valentina became pregnant again.

Even though it was illegal at the time, Valentina decided to find a way to end her pregnancy

“I was just thinking of the two [children] I already had, to try to give them a better life. Maybe I can’t do much, but I can at least try to give them better food, to dress them better, and take care of them.”

Valentina is one of three women whose stories are told in Aborto Sin Pena, a documentary produced in 2007. Shortly after this documentary was made, the Legislative Assembly of Mexico’s Federal District passed a law decriminalizing abortion in Mexico City. In August 2008, the Mexican Supreme Court upheld a challenge to this law.

The law had immediate effects. More than 900 legal abortions took place in the first two months after the law was passed. By December 2007, 4,770 women had received abortion care, and by the middle of August 2008, the figure was 12,262. In the four years before the law change, there were only 66 legal procedures.

While this law was being debated, Ipas Mexico was a key source of accurate, scientific information about reproductive health to the Federal District’s Legislative Assembly and the public. Following legalization, Ipas Mexico collaborated with the Mexico City Ministry of Health (MOH) to promote new guidelines for induced abortion services.  

Unfortunately, Valentina had no legal options. Instead, she turned to her friends and neighbors for recommendations on how to end her pregnancy. These recommendations included a series of injections, suppositories, a glass of “tea” made from home-brewed medicines, and a “massage” in which Valentina was picked up and shaken about.

“First they did it lying facing up, they picked me up, forcefully, and something gave, I don’t know where,” Valentina said. “It hurt up into my head, and well, nothing.”

Luckily, Valentina eventually received a recommendation about a clinic willing to take the risk of providing the illegal service.

“I got there, and it was so nice they treated me so well. I saw the doctor, who said to me, and I remember the exact words: ‘Señora Valentina, how can we help you?’ And I explained, ‘Doctor, I have this problem, and I want you to help me. Please.’ And that was it,” Valentina said.

Valentina is confident that she made the best decision for herself and her family. “Guilt? I don’t feel it, because if I wasn’t sure about what I wanted to do in the first place, I wouldn’t have done it, just to feel bad later on, or have regrets.  But no, my decision was made, and now I feel happy,” Valentina said.

Aborto Sin Pena, in Spanish with English subtitles, features Valentina’s story as well as the story of two other women, Yojany and Berenice. The DVD also includes discussion questions in Spanish. To purchase Aborto Sin Pena, contact Gregory Berger at Gringoyo@gmail.com. Ipas'sYouTube page will regularly be updated with interviews and other videos, and includes a clip of Yojany's story.

For more information, contact:
Kirsten Sherk
Senior Associate, Media Relations
e-mail: sherkk@ipas.org
phone: 919.960.5612
fax: 919.929.0258