Mexican Activists Help US Women Get Abortion
2023-04-12
LRC
TXT
大字
小字
滚动
全页
1Marcela Castro's office in Chihuahua is more than 150 kilometers from the United States-Mexico border.
2But the distance does not prevent her from assisting women in the U.S. to go around the recent bans on abortion, a medical procedure to end a pregnancy.
3Castro and her coworkers work for Marea Verde Chihuahua.
4The organization of mostly volunteers has supported reproductive rights in northern Mexico since 2018.
5They provide virtual guidance and abortion pills for women who want to end a pregnancy on their own.
6Their abortion model requires no travel, health center visit, or prescriptions.
7It was developed by Mexican activists through many years of facing abortion bans and restrictions in Mexico.
8The organization does not charge for the help they provide.
9And the model gained interest in the U.S. as the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade to end the constitutional right to abortion last year.
10Castro and her coworkers are trained "acompañantes."
11They can safely advise women on self-administered medical abortions.
12And they serve as a guide and partner, in person or from a distance.
13They have studied national abortion guidelines and they fully know the medical procedures established by the World Health Organization (WHO).
14"We don't offer medical attention because we are not doctors," Castro said.
15"Although it is a medical procedure, it does not require hospital measures."
16Most women from the U.S. contact Marea Verde Chihuahua through social media or are introduced by someone.
17Most communicate in Spanish, though the "acompañantes" could also assist English speakers as well.
18Communication usually is conducted via a mobile and secure tool, WhatsApp.
19In most cases, medication is advised and the "acompañante" provides a combination of two drugs, misoprostol and mifepristone, to end the pregnancy.
20They are both considered safe by the WHO and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
21The work of the "acompañantes" troubles anti-abortion activists in Mexico.
22One of them, Jahel Torres of a national group called Pasos por la Vida, suggested there were health risks because abortion pills were given by non-medical workers.
23However, the WHO's guidelines show self-administered abortion as a safe option.
24John Seago is president of Right to Life in the U.S. state of Texas.
25The organization is pushing for new legislation to punish those breaking Texas law by helping people receive abortions.
26He said there has yet to be any strong effort to bring legal action against those involved with supplying abortion pills to people who live in Texas.
27"Texas simply does not have enough policy tools to efficiently stop these practices," Seago said.
28Nathan Cortez is a professor of health law at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas.
29He said he expected that women in states with abortion bans would consider getting help from outside the U.S.
30Las Libres is an organization founded 20 years ago in the Mexican state of Guanajuato, where abortion is still banned.
31It is led by activist Veronica Cruz.
32And it began training acompañantes since 2019.
33"In January 2022, we had an average of 10 cases every day. When Roe was overturned, in June, we had up to a hundred," Cruz said.
34She said the numbers kept rising until they reached 300 requests per day, all from the U.S.
35The workload was so large for her team of 10 people, so she created new networks to help.
36"In one year we created more than 20 networks. We are about 200 people helping only the United States," Cruz said.
37I'm Gregory Stachel.
1Marcela Castro's office in Chihuahua is more than 150 kilometers from the United States-Mexico border. But the distance does not prevent her from assisting women in the U.S. to go around the recent bans on abortion, a medical procedure to end a pregnancy. 2Castro and her coworkers work for Marea Verde Chihuahua. The organization of mostly volunteers has supported reproductive rights in northern Mexico since 2018. They provide virtual guidance and abortion pills for women who want to end a pregnancy on their own. 3Their abortion model requires no travel, health center visit, or prescriptions. It was developed by Mexican activists through many years of facing abortion bans and restrictions in Mexico. The organization does not charge for the help they provide. And the model gained interest in the U.S. as the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade to end the constitutional right to abortion last year. 4Castro and her coworkers are trained "acompañantes." They can safely advise women on self-administered medical abortions. And they serve as a guide and partner, in person or from a distance. They have studied national abortion guidelines and they fully know the medical procedures established by the World Health Organization (WHO). 5"We don't offer medical attention because we are not doctors," Castro said. "Although it is a medical procedure, it does not require hospital measures." 6Most women from the U.S. contact Marea Verde Chihuahua through social media or are introduced by someone. Most communicate in Spanish, though the "acompañantes" could also assist English speakers as well. Communication usually is conducted via a mobile and secure tool, WhatsApp. 7In most cases, medication is advised and the "acompañante" provides a combination of two drugs, misoprostol and mifepristone, to end the pregnancy. They are both considered safe by the WHO and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. 8The work of the "acompañantes" troubles anti-abortion activists in Mexico. One of them, Jahel Torres of a national group called Pasos por la Vida, suggested there were health risks because abortion pills were given by non-medical workers. However, the WHO's guidelines show self-administered abortion as a safe option. 9Increased requests 10John Seago is president of Right to Life in the U.S. state of Texas. The organization is pushing for new legislation to punish those breaking Texas law by helping people receive abortions. He said there has yet to be any strong effort to bring legal action against those involved with supplying abortion pills to people who live in Texas. 11"Texas simply does not have enough policy tools to efficiently stop these practices," Seago said. 12Nathan Cortez is a professor of health law at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. He said he expected that women in states with abortion bans would consider getting help from outside the U.S. 13Las Libres is an organization founded 20 years ago in the Mexican state of Guanajuato, where abortion is still banned. It is led by activist Veronica Cruz. And it began training acompañantes since 2019. 14"In January 2022, we had an average of 10 cases every day. When Roe was overturned, in June, we had up to a hundred," Cruz said. 15She said the numbers kept rising until they reached 300 requests per day, all from the U.S. The workload was so large for her team of 10 people, so she created new networks to help. 16"In one year we created more than 20 networks. We are about 200 people helping only the United States," Cruz said. 17I'm Gregory Stachel. 18María Teresa Hernández reported this story for The Associated Press. Gregory Stachel adapted it for VOA Learning English. 19_______________________________________________________________________ 20Words in This Story 21abortion - n. a medical procedure used to end a pregnancy and cause the death of the fetus 22prescription - n. a written message from a doctor that officially tells someone to use a medicine or therapy 23administer - v. to give (a drug, medicine, or treatment) to someone 24efficient - adj. capable of producing desired results without wasting materials, time, or energy 25_______________________________________________________________________ 26What do you think of this story? 27We want to hear from you. We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 28Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.