Friday, September 10, 2010

7 Mexican women freed in so-called infanticide cases

Corinne Knowles
September 10, 2010
2:30pm


Seven Mexican women were given long prison sentences for getting abortions even though they swore they just had miscarriages. One of these women even claimed she wasn't positive she was truly pregnant in the first place. According to the article there is still a stigma attacked to unwanted pregnancies. Abortion may have been legalized in Mexico City three years ago but it is still illegal in the rest of the country. A woman in Mexico could be charged six months to three years in prison for having an abortion. In some cases authorities could charge women with killing an infant and send them to prison for up to twenty-nine years.

Abortion has been and continues to be such a controversial issue here in the United States that many of us don't think about it being such an issue in other countries. Abortion may be frowned on by some people in the US but it's hard to imagine a woman being sent to prison for three years for getting an abortion. I think this kind of punishment can be very dangerous. I'm sure that the hearts of those who came up with these laws are in the right place but I don't think they really thought about what consequences this may bring. If a woman has made up her mind about getting an abortion she's going to do it no matter what, and because it's illegal she is going to put herself in danger trying to find another way to do it. Hopefully Mexican authorities can find a happy medium between upholding moral values and keeping women safe.

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3 comments:

Tenna Wyatt said...

I agree that the biggest concern should be that these women are going to go in search of ways to have the abortion, regardless if it is safe or not. I have read stories of women having underground abortions and getting sick or even dieing as a result. But the government doesn't think about those things.

9/10/2010 3:32 PM
Brooke Edmonds said...

You are totally right when you say abortion is a controversial issue. People all around the world have different opinions on legalizing it and what not, but to me, I am totally against abortion all the way. I see it as killing an innocent child. I think if these women did have an abortion in a country where it is illegal, they should face the consequences of being caught. I do think being put in prison is a little too harsh though. Especially when it doesn't appear the authorities did much investigation to see if the women were telling the truth of if they really had a miscarriage.

9/21/2010 2:59 PM
Kelsey said...

I agree with teena, women in areas of the world where abortions are illegal, still will be going in search of ways to terminate an unwanted pregnancy whether it is safe or not. In this I think that education is the most important factor the world needs to consider in these areas, because with more education, they will know the harmful effects that can come about when a women is being put in the situation of having to have a 'secret' abortion.

12/02/2010 3:01 PM

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