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
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.
International
Vatican releases special “Sede Vacante” stamps ahead of papal transition
he Vatican’s post offices and select collector shops began selling special edition stamps this week to mark the period between the death of Pope Francis and the election of his successor.
Known as “Sede Vacante” stamps, they feature an image used on official Vatican documents during the interregnum between popes — two crossed keys without the papal tiara. These stamps went on sale Monday and will remain valid for postal use only until the new pontiff appears at the window overlooking St. Peter’s Square.
Until then, they can be used to send letters, postcards, and parcels. “Once the new pope is elected, the stamps lose their postal validity, but their collectible value rises,” said Francesco Santarossa, who runs a collectors’ shop across from St. Peter’s Square.
The Vatican has issued the stamps in four denominations: €1.25, €1.30, €2.45, and €3.20. Each is inscribed with “Città del Vaticano” and “Sede Vacante MMXXV” — Latin for “Vacant See 2025.”
International
Conclave to choose pope Francis’ successor could begin in early may
The conclave, which in the coming weeks must choose the successor to Pope Francis, will strictly follow a precise protocol refined over centuries.
The 135 cardinal electors, all under the age of 80, will cast their votes four times a day — except on the first day — until one candidate secures a two-thirds majority. The result will be announced to the world through the burning of the ballots with a chemical that produces the eagerly awaited white smoke, accompanied by the traditional cry of “Habemus Papam.”
The start date for the conclave could be announced today, as the cardinals are set to hold their fifth meeting since the pope’s passing. Luxembourg Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich suggested it could begin on May 5 or 6, following the traditional nine days of mourning. According to German Cardinal Reinhard Marx, the conclave could last only “a few days.”
Although the late Argentine pontiff appointed the majority of the cardinal electors, this does not necessarily ensure the selection of a like-minded successor. Francis’ leadership style differed significantly from that of his predecessor, Benedict XVI, a German theologian who was less fond of large public gatherings. It also marked a contrast with the popular Polish pope, John Paul II.
The Argentine Jesuit’s reformist papacy drew strong criticism from more conservative sectors of the Church, who are hoping for a doctrinally focused shift. His tenure was marked by efforts to combat clerical sexual abuse, elevate the role of women and laypeople, and advocate for the poor and migrants, among other causes.
Kristi Noem credits Trump for mass migrant deportations by mexican president
Vatican releases special “Sede Vacante” stamps ahead of papal transition
Conclave to choose pope Francis’ successor could begin in early may
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