Earlier this month, the Mexican government decriminalized abortion at the national level. Even before that happened, though, and before the United States repealed Roe v. Wade in 2022, Mexican abortion rights activists were stepping up to help provide care to Americans in need. The need for that sort of cross-border assistance is only increasing as time goes by and American restrictions tighten.
In recent years, and especially since the overturn of Roe, some Americans in border states (where abortion was largely inaccessible even before the Supreme Court interfered) have traveled to parts of Mexico where abortion was already protected at the local level. There, they can get surgical abortions. But more often, Mexican abortion activists mail or otherwise transport abortion pills to the U.S. for those unable to travel all the way to Mexico. And reproductive care providers in Mexico offer more than just medical and surgical abortions: They also offer medical counseling to help individuals seeking care take the next steps, as well as psychological counseling if needed.
Mexican reproductive rights groups had been preparing for the overturn of Roe since before it was on the Supreme Court’s docket. To handle the projected increase in demand for care, they stocked up on pills and planned their delivery methods to get medicine into the States to as many people as possible. What’s more, they have made it clear that they won’t be stopping their work anytime soon.
A recent article in the New York Times reports:
Activists involved in sending the pills to the United States declined to specify their shipping and delivery methods, though most said they are coordinating with American activists over the border. One organizer in Mexico, who requested anonymity out of fear of retaliation, said she conceals the medication in electronic accessories, clothing, stuffed animals or dietary supplements when shipping to states that restrict it.
While the Food and Drug Administration said that abortion drugs can be delivered by mail, several states banned this shipping method, or require that the drugs be dispensed by providers in person.
This strong showing of allyship from abortion activists beyond U.S. borders marks a reverse in circumstances between our country and Mexico—as the Times puts it, “crystallizing the shifting policies of two nations that once held vastly different positions on the procedure.”
In the face of Americans losing access to vital reproductive healthcare, there is some comfort in knowing that we are not totally alone.
(featured image: Ethan Swope/Getty Images)
