TIJUANA (Border Report) — Back in 2021, the Mexican Supreme Court decriminalized abortion.
Since then, eight Mexican states and Mexico City have created pathways to abortion, including Baja California which is home to Tijuana.
In this city, there are only a handful of doctors licensed to perform abortions, according to Hilda Gonzalez Cerda, the head of Reproductive Health with Baja’s Secretary of Health.
But she warns not all pregnant women can get one.
The procedure is permissible for women who have been pregnant for fewer than 12 weeks.
In cases where the pregnancy is nine weeks or fewer, women can be prescribed misoprostol, which is a pill that can terminate a pregnancy.
This medication is commonly given to people with ulcers.
All other abortions must be performed in a hospital setting.
Women who have been victims of rape, incest or bad artificial insemination are also permitted to end their pregnancies.
And women who are carrying a baby that shows genetic defects can also get the procedure.
Gonzalez Cerda said those seeking an abortion in Baja California must first call a central office.
Women will be brought in for an interview and a decision will be made if she is a qualifying candidate for an abortion.
If she does qualify, the woman will be sent to a licensed doctor who can perform the procedure.
And nationality does not matter.
Gonzalez Cerda said that 28 women had abortions from November 2021 to the end of February of this year in Tijuana, but could not say if any of the women were from north of the border.
She also said more and more doctors are being licensed to perform abortions, and their system is expanding to accommodate more women in the future.
One doctor who wanted to remain anonymous told Border Report he doesn’t expect an influx of American women coming to Baja California for abortions considering the procedures will “likely remain legal in California.”
The Supreme Court’s ruling leaves it up to states to decide whether to allow abortions.
California leaders have already stated nothing will change in terms of access to abortions for women in their state.
