Support for abortion rose sharply in Mexico in 2020, according to a poll published on 11 January 2021, as attitudes towards the issue shift across Latin America.
In Mexico, abortion on request in the first trimester is allowed only in Mexico City and the state of Oaxaca, but a growing pro-choice movement has been calling for a loosening of restrictions.
At the end of November 2020, support for abortion stood at 48% in a survey published by the news organizations El Financiero and Nación321 – much higher than the 29% recorded in March 2020. The poll, based on telephone interviews with 410 participants, asked if respondents agreed that “the law should permit a woman the right to abortion”.
At the same time, interest in misoprostol online is also growing. A low dose of misoprostol is currently available as morning-after contraception but social networks have been reporting that a larger dose will cause an abortion. A search by Infobae México of Google found that searches for “misoprostol”, “misoprostol abortion”, “sale of misoprostol”, and “misoprostol without prescription” were increasing. In the week 6-12 December 2020 alone, searches for “misoprostol abortion” increased by 285%. It is worth noting that in the states of Puebla, Veracruz, Nuevo León and Jalisco, where the termination of pregnancy has not been decriminalised, searches for “misoprostol abortion” increased the most.
SOURCE: Reuters.com, by Drazen Jorgic, 11 January 2021 ; Infobae, by Joshua Hernández, 9 December 2020 inc. FILE PHOTO