The first safe abortion clinic opens its doors in western Mexico

The first legal interruption clinic of pregnancy was inaugurated this Saturday in Guadalajara, the third most populous city in Mexico, to provide abortion services without stigmas and with safe processes for women and people with the capacity to gestate.

Four months after the decriminalization of voluntary abortion until 12 weeks in the state of Jalisco, whose capital is Guadalajara, this space will prevent those who need this service from moving to Mexico City, where it has been allowed since 2007.

Now, this private hospital can receive patients from neighboring states to Jalisco, such as Nayarit, Zacatecas, Guanajuato, San Luis Potosí, Michoacán, Colima or Aguascalientes, where abortion has not yet been decriminalized.

Gynecologist Alfredo Valdez González, founder of the ‘Ginecea’ clinic, with headquarters in Mexico City and Sinaloa, explained to Efe that in the 15 years they have been in the capital of Mexico, they have attended “many women who go from the state of Jalisco looking for that type of service ».

«Then, being here with all the resistance (social), it is necessary,» said Valdez González.

Jalisco, the second most important state in the country and one of the most conservative, decriminalized abortion until 12 weeks in October 2024, in the face of the resistance of anti -abortion groups that they pressed so that the initiative did not pass through the State Congress.

Attention without stigma

In this clinic, said Valdez, specialized doctors will grant the service and follow the protocols suggested by the World Health Organization (WHO) for safe abortion, with advice regarding procedures, as well as emotional accompaniment to patients.

«That you can provide services, that you can not stigmatize women who decide to interrupt a pregnancy and who can go with confidence, to be a safe place for women,» said Valdez.

The procedures to be carried out will be the Endouterin Manual aspiration (AMEU), considered a safe and effective alternative during the first pregnancy quarter, as well as the abortion protocol with medicines, which some public health centers and the feminist collective collective of accompaniment that exist in the country.

Safe abortion in Mexico

The social stigma around the interruption of pregnancy is the main factor that women do not seek help or do not approach health institutions in Mexico to carry out an abortion, said Valdez.

And it has to do with moral and religious judgments related to abortion, present not only in families, but also among health personnel who must give this care in public hospitals.

“In most of the states in which it has been approved, it has also been approved that the care by the health sector is free, that they can access this type of services without costs for the state population, the point is that there are Much stigma in relation to how they will see me or what they will say about me, ”he said.

Valdez González said that ‘Ginecea’ is dedicated only to attending abortions within 12.6 weeks allowed by most state laws.

Advance in decriminalization

In Mexico, the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN) determined in 2021 the unconstitutionality of the crime of abortion throughout the country, forcing States to reform their laws and that women and people with the capacity to gestate have access to services Free pregnancy interruption.

Since then, more than 20 states have decriminalized voluntary abortion, starting in Mexico City in 2007; followed by Oaxaca (2019); Baja California, Coahuila, Veracruz, Colima and Hidalgo (2021); Guerrero, Baja California Sur, Sinaloa, Quintana Roo in 2022; Aguascalientes, Puebla, Jalisco, Michoacán, San Luis Potosí, Zacatecas, State of Mexico and Chiapas (2024).

In addition, in January 2025, the SCJN declared invalid the crime of voluntary abortion in Chihuahua, giving way to a judicial decriminalization rather than legislative.

In the remaining 11 states, the interruption of pregnancy is allowed only in cases of sexual aggression and other legal grounds such as danger of death or health damage to the pregnant person.