International
Safe abortion and without stigma, one of the biggest claims of Mexican women this March 8
Despite the fact that abortion is already legalized in more than 20 of the 32 states of Mexico, many women and pregnant people continue to face barriers to access a safe, timely and stigma-free procedure, a latent claim in the country on the eve of International Women’s Day this Saturday.
Women who have aborted, networks of companions and civil organizations agree that the legal deadlines and causes are insufficient to guarantee this right, and, on the contrary, complicate safe and timely access for most Mexican women.
A few days after the decriminalization in the state of Michoacán (west) last October, Citlalli had to travel to Mexico City to interrupt an unwanted pregnancy, after going through a series of obstacles that prevented her from doing so in her locality.
She was 22 weeks old when she was able to access a safe abortion, although from the beginning she was convinced of her decision, hindered by misinformation and stigma, after the first attempt the medicine failed and she could not go to a clinic for an outpatient procedure.
“And time kept passing,” the woman who preferred to change her name because of the criminalization that persists in the country shared with EFE.
Michoacán is one of the 22 states that have decriminalized voluntary abortion, although limited to 12 weeks, except for Sinaloa (13 weeks) and Aguascalientes, which reduced it to six.
Citlalli was able to travel to Mexico City to abort, thanks to local networks and groups directing her to the Maria Fund, of the NGO Balance, where they provided her with accompaniment and financial support, without which, she says, she would “have had no choice but to have the baby and would not have been able to access a safe abortion.”
Like her, thousands of Mexican women abort in the capital, but many more remain in their states at risk of having unsafe procedures or continuing with pregnancy, despite the Supreme Court’s ruling in 2021 that prevents the criminalization of abortion throughout the country.
Mexico City opened the way in 2007 to free abortion until the first trimester, reforming its laws and opening clinics of Legal Interruption of Pregnancy (ILE), which this 2025 turn 18 years of operating.
Despite being legal, the stigma and lack of medical training have also left their mark on the capital, such as Gaby, who five years ago had an abortion in a public clinic, but faced violence from medical personnel.
Doctors and nurses tried to condition the treatment by refusing to have an intrauterine contraceptive device placed on him, Gaby said, and then they mocked and ridiculed his decision.
“I felt that I was fighting, for my rights (…) and I think that many women feel exactly the same,” said the young woman who tried to report in the clinic, but only found a complaint box and there was never a follow-up, something she continues to claim in every feminist protest.
“I have gone out to march to shout with my sisters for our rights, for this whole patriarchal system that oppresses us so much, that violents us all the time,” he said.
Eliminating abortion from the Criminal Code is one of the main demands of the feminist movement in Mexico, which resonate strongly since last November, when the Congress of the capital was about to eliminate the deadlines for free access.
“The 12 weeks (of gestation) are not enough,” warned Gabriela Millán, of the María Fund, since different barriers intervene access and affect “disproportionately people who are in vulnerable situations.”
The proposal continues in the legislative field, “at the historical maximum it had reached,” said Francisco Cué Martínez, of the Information Group in Selected Reproduction (GIRE).
“It is a real paradigm shift that allows (…) to abandon once and for all that the penal system to determine who, when and how can access a basic health service,” said the lawyer.
International
Man arrested after deliberately driving into seven children in Osaka
Japanese police arrested a man on Thursday after he rammed his car into a group of seven schoolchildren in an apparent deliberate attack in the city of Osaka.
The children, who were on their way home from school, sustained injuries and were taken to the hospital. All seven remained conscious, according to local authorities.
An Osaka police officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the suspect is a 28-year-old man from Tokyo. The officer shared statements the man made after his arrest: “I was fed up with everything, so I decided to kill people by driving into several elementary school children,” the suspect reportedly said.
The man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.
The injured children, aged between seven and eight, included a seven-year-old girl who suffered a fractured jaw. The six other children—all boys—suffered minor injuries such as bruises and scratches and were undergoing medical evaluation.
Witnesses described the car as “zigzagging” before hitting the children. One witness told Nippon TV that a girl was “covered in blood” and the others appeared to have scratches.
Another witness said the driver, who was wearing a face mask, looked to be in shock when school staff pulled him from the vehicle.
Violent crimes are rare in Japan, though serious incidents do occur from time to time. In 2008, Tomohiro Kato drove a two-ton truck into pedestrians in Tokyo’s Akihabara district, then fatally stabbed several victims. Seven people were killed in that attack.
Internacionales
Clashes erupt during may day protests across France amid calls for better wages
May Day protests in France were marked by a heavy police presence and clashes between demonstrators and law enforcement in several cities.
In Paris, Lyon, and Nantes, thousands took to the streets to demand better wages, fairer working conditions, and to voice their dissatisfaction with President Emmanuel Macron’s government.
While the majority of the demonstrations remained peaceful, isolated confrontations broke out in some areas. Protesters threw objects at the police, prompting the use of tear gas and resulting in several arrests.
Videos showing police crackdowns circulated widely on social media, drawing criticism from labor unions and human rights advocates, who denounced the authorities’ response to the protests.
International
Kristi Noem credits Trump for mass migrant deportations by mexican president
U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem claimed that Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has deported “more than half a million” migrants due to pressure from former President Donald Trump.
During a cabinet meeting highlighting the “achievements” of Trump’s administration in its first 100 days, Noem asserted that under the Republican leader’s influence, “Mexico has finally come to the table” to negotiate on migration and fentanyl trafficking.
“The president of Mexico told me she has returned just over half a million people before they reached our border,” Noem stated, criticizing media reports that suggest the Biden administration deported more migrants than Trump’s.
“I wish those deportations were counted,” Noem added, “because those people never made it to our border—she sent them back because you made her.” She went on to thank Trump: “They never made it here because they got the message—because you were so aggressive.”
Noem has made controversial claims about Sheinbaum in the past, prompting the Mexican leader to refute them.
On April 1, Sheinbaum responded to one such statement by declaring, “The president answers to only one authority, and that is the people of Mexico,” after Noem said on Fox News that she gave Sheinbaum “a list of things Trump would like to see” and that Mexico’s actions would determine whether Trump granted tariff relief.
Man arrested after deliberately driving into seven children in Osaka
Clashes erupt during may day protests across France amid calls for better wages
Kristi Noem credits Trump for mass migrant deportations by mexican president
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