Texas women are heading to Mexico for medical abortions

[Demovictory9]

A week after Texas’ abortion-restricting law was enacted, Mexico’s Supreme Court dissolved a Coahuila state law that made abortion a crime.

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“What we’ve heard patients say is that they just go to the pharmacy in Mexico, which is literally just walk-in, and the pharmacist will just give you the medication,” she said. Misoprostol, initially approved as an ulcer medication, is available there without a prescription. Mifepristone is not. So sometimes people make do with just misoprostol, which can still be effective in ending a pregnancy, though less so when taken alone.

For example, a medication abortion is completed 92% of the time when misoprostol and mifepristone are taken together. That rate drops to around 60% with only misoprostol.

Some people, Hernandez said, come back to the McAllen clinic unsure of whether they were given the right medications and whether they worked. Others come in because they experience excessive bleeding and cramping.

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“They say they would rather just go to Mexico,” said Hernandez, who then pleads with patients to stick with Whole Woman’s Health and let them help arrange an abortion at another clinic in the U.S. More of the clinic’s resources are now being used to coordinate travel and accommodations, she said.

But her patients tend to be wary of traveling to other states, said Hernandez, who has worked at Whole Woman’s Health of McAllen for 12 years. Many who come into the clinic tell her they have never been anywhere but the Valley and Mexico. And even for those who have, Mexico is still more familiar, she said.

https://khn.org/news/article/abortion-clinic-texas-mexico-border-legal-and-cultural-challenges/

[Buckeyeblue]

1. I've heard of more people going to Mexico for elective surgery as well

Apparently it's much cheaper, even with the cost of travel.

[Demovictory9]

2. people have always gone to Tijuana for dental work and medical procedures

[vercetti2021]

8. This is really true actually

My cousin went to Tijuana to get stomach reduction surgery because it was a lot more cost efficient

[Tickle]

3. Her patients are wary

to travel to other states so they would rather travel to another country? Something is wrong with that line

[marybourg]

4. Many are of Mexican heritage and

still have strong ties to Mexico

[WhiskeyGrinder]

5. It says why right in the article.

That’s because the area it serves is farther from an out-of-state U.S. abortion provider than any other Texas clinic and at the same time is also the closest clinic to Mexico — less than an hour’s drive away — where abortion was decriminalized in September.

(snip)

Border life here is vibrant, and it’s common for people to cross over to Mexico for all kinds of reasons. People travel to visit family and friends, for pan dulce and tortillas, and for health care. Braces and antibiotics, for example, are much cheaper south of the border.

For the past few months, Hernandez estimates, around six of the weekly average of 25 patients who come to the Whole Woman’s clinic will find out they are past the sixth week of pregnancy. If they want an abortion, they face either an 800-mile drive to the nearest out-of-state provider, in New Mexico, or a quick day trip to Mexico.

[LeftInTX]

7. They literally live within walking distance of Mexico

I think cost is a factor.
New Mexico is 800 miles away.

[mainer]

6. I have friends who regularly use a Mexican dentist

They're well-to-do but they like their Mexican dentist, so whenever they head down for vacation, they book an appointment for a dental cleaning. Fraction of the cost.

Last time I went down with them for a holiday and came back with some refill prescription meds. Cheaper and more convenient.

[LeftInTX]

9. There have been issues with abortion pills obtained in Mexico:

What we’ve heard patients say is that they just go to the pharmacy in Mexico, which is literally just walk-in, and the pharmacist will just give you the medication,” she said. Misoprostol, initially approved as an ulcer medication, is available there without a prescription. Mifepristone is not. So sometimes people make do with just misoprostol

medication abortion, which usually involves taking a combination of the abortion-inducing drugs mifepristone and misoprostol. She is concerned that the patients may not get adequate care.

Women are only taking 1/2 of the pill regime...

[leftyladyfrommo]

10. 50 years ago women went to Mexico for abortions.

I was in Salt Lake City going to school at the U of U. My friends that needed abortions went to Mexico and Portland.

We have gone backwards full circle. The pressure from the anti abortion people has been relentless for 50 years.

It's not going to get better. We may need an underground railroad to Mexico.

[Demovictory9]

11. Reprod rights groups are already on it..budgets shifting to travel funding

.

[roamer65]

12. My worry is that it is an international border.

Thus it is subject to more poking, prodding and searches by customs officials. State borders are not. I hope we see adequate funding to bring women to states like CA, WA, OR, IL, NY and other legal states. I plan to contribute when Roe v Wade is overturned or weakened in the next few weeks.