LAS CONFIDENTAS IS THERE TO ASSIST THOSE IN NEED
In Tijuana, women up to 12 weeks of pregnancy can have a safe abortion in their own homes for approximately $40, with a 96 percent chance of no complications and 85 percent to 95 percent success, depending on the medical method chosen.
Las Confidentas — providers of the first abortion hotline for Baja California — has as its primary goal to deliver information and offer companionship to anyone who is looking to have a safe abortion.
A medical abortion generally involves either a combination of two types of medicine — mifepristone and misoprostol — or a misoprostol-only regimen, and can be done safely and comfortably at home. These medications are included in the World Health Organization’s Model List of Essential Medicines.
Mifepristone is an anti-progestin that binds to progesterone receptors, inhibiting the action of progesterone and hence interfering with the continuation of pregnancy. Misoprostol induces cervical softening and dilation and enhances uterine contractions, which aids in expelling the products of conception.
Luckily for women in Tijuana and throughout Mexico, a combined regimen can be requested through shipping, and misoprostol only can be purchased in any pharmacy, without a prescription, both for approximately $40.
Surgical abortion is another safe abortion method. However, medical abortion reduces the need for skilled surgical abortion providers and offers a non-invasive and highly acceptable option to pregnant individuals.
Regardless of the current best method to have a safe abortion, what we also know is that women and all individuals who can become pregnant have been having abortions since the beginning of time. Women and individuals who can get pregnant, menstruate and give birth have abortions whether governments’ laws agree or not. To put this into perspective, 1 out of every 4 American women will have an abortion during her reproductive years.
The good thing is that each day that passes, abortions get safer and more accessible, or at least that is the truth for most countries.
In Mexico’s case, we applaud the longoverdue work of Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador and Morena’s legislative teams to push forward decriminalization of abortion up to 12 weeks in nine of the 32 Mexican states.
The United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) has explained that violations of women’s sexual and reproductive health and rights — such as criminalization of abortion, denial or delay of safe abortion and/or post-abortion care, and forced continuation of pregnancy — are forms of gender-based violence that, depending on the circumstances, may amount to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.
CEDAW’s statement sums it up very well: Forced pregnancy can lead to torture; that can be translated into worldwide suffering brought upon every woman and individual who wishes to terminate their pregnancy and do not have access to a safe abortion
This brings us to the mind-boggling debate over whether to overturn Roe v. Wade. We understand that this is pushed through religious beliefs, but we can’t shake the idea that there are more profound reasons — related to economics and power — for anti-abortion bills to advance in states and possibly be upheld by the Supreme Court. We fear that one of the leading countries in the world might actually go through with this and influence other countries to follow suit.
From Las Confidentas’ point of view, we celebrate the long-overdue move of Mexico’s Supreme Court to decriminalize abortion nationwide on Sept. 7, 2021. This came from a timely perspective, in our opinion, as a bold progressive response to Texas, which just days before enacted one of the strictest anti-abortion measures in the U.S.
In the state of Baja California, on Oct. 29, 2021, the local Congress legalized abortion by request until 12 weeks of pregnancy and without restrictions for rape survivors. However, we know for a fact that our job is far from over. Maternity is almost sacred in Mexico’s predominant Catholic society, but horrible cases of obstetric violence are still on the everyday menu of public and private medical institutions. Therefore, we suspect it will take a long time to have statewide access to shame- and violence-free abortions.
Until all abortion is safe, accessible and fully decriminalized for any number of weeks of gestation nationwide, Las Confidentas will keep working at providing information on the safest, most recent and inexpensive options to have an abortion in the Tijuana-San Diego border region.
Because of personal beliefs, you may not agree 100 percent with what we are doing, but we encourage you to save our contact information because you never know when you or someone you know might need a helping hand during an unwanted pregnancy.
• Hotline phone: +52 557 390 9928
• Whatsapp: +52 664 1516750