Experiences of women accessing legal abortion in Mexico City

Background

In April 2007, abortion in the first 12 weeks of gestation was legalized in Mexico City. Over 19.000 women from Mexico City and other states have been treated since. The procedure is offered in one public health clinic, and 12 public hospitals of the Ministry of Health (MOH). Furthermore, there are several private clinics that offer abortion services. We are finalizing a qualitative study to the experiences of women who had legal abortions in Mexico City.

Methods

We are conducting 25 in-depth interviews with women who had an abortion on their experiences in a public clinic and 2 private clinics. We started the field work in September 2008 and will finish the interviews end of February 2009. The data will be transcribed, coded and analyzed using the software Atlas-ti.

Results:

Our preliminary findings are based on 15 interviews in the public health center. Participants expressed a high satisfaction on the abortion services offered. The women knew about the services through internet, a governmental telephone line or friends. None had doubts about their decision to do an abortion, and the counseling provided was perceived as adequate. They felt treated with respect and taken into account, even if the choice for the abortion procedure (surgical or medical abortion), was made by the physician. Most accepted contraceptive methods post-abortion.

Conclusions

Women's experiences with the legal abortion services in the public health center were very positive. They recommended opening more, similar health centers providing legal abortion services.