Following the legalization of abortion in Mexico City, conservative forces counterattacked on the state level by drastically curbing abortion rights in a range of states, in many cases making the legislation far harsher than under the laws of the Reforma period of Benito Juárez in the 19th century. One of these states was Quintana Roo, where the state congress, to its discredit, in April 2009 banned abortion in all its forms from "inception," the term preferred by the ultraright. The tragedies did not wait long to appear: The case of an 11-year girl who was raped by her stepfather and forced to give birth according to the reformed law, was only the tip of the iceberg. Now the state congress finally stood up to its previous reckless stupidity and voted to change the legislation, after a proposal by PRI legislator María Hadad Castillo, to allow for abortion in the case of rape or if the woman's life is in danger.
It is a small step forward, but forward nonetheless. Is it also a signal that the wave of social ultraconservatism sweeping across many of Mexico's state governments 1-2 years ago, is losing steam? For the health of Mexico's women and their freedom to decide over their own body, I surely hope so.
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