Collectives seek legal protection so that the IMSS can perform pregnancy terminations.

 

Mexicali, February 12. Several collectives from Mexicali and Tijuana have filed legal injunctions to force IMSS Bienestar to provide legal abortion services, according to local representative Michel Sánchez Allende, who participated in the weekly meeting of the Mexicali Early Risers Group.

She explained that, although abortion is decriminalized in Baja California when performed in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy , IMSS Bienestar only refers patients to other local hospitals for care.

The local legislator mentioned that what is needed for the IMSS to be able to provide the service is for the representatives in the Congress of the Union to decriminalize abortion in the Federal Penal Code.

According to the latest information provided by the Secretary of Health, since abortion was decriminalized in Baja California in October 2021, approximately 800 legal abortions have been performed in the state.

Michel Sánchez commented that during the Secretary of Health's appearance, he asked him to recognize the origin of the patients, especially given what is happening in the United States , where it is known that some states have limited that right, and thus it would be possible to know how many North American patients have been treated in Baja California.

She recalled that when she promoted the reform, she requested information from Mexico City on the number of Baja California women who went to the country's capital for an ILE and, from 2007 to 2021, there were 79