Abstract

Mexico's Open Secret

The article focuses on the underground practice of abortion that took place in a private abortion clinic along a street of single-story row houses on the edge of one of Mexico's main cities. Although the sign outside the house reads "Family Practice", yet it was Mexico's open secret for everyone. The doctor practicing there had treated about 5000 women for eight years while taking care not to let his patients divulge any identity, as abortion was illegal in Mexico. Throughout Latin America, Mexico was viewed as a bellwether in the abortion debate, with other countries in the region looking to it for leadership. Mexico's leading women's health organizations have advocated more thorough sex education programs, aimed at adolescents and poor men and women. They have also urged for the legalization of abortion. In Mexico, few women or doctors have been jailed for performing abortions.