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 Health & Beauty | May 2007 
Abortion Off-Limits at Federal Facilities
 The Herald Mexico
The nation´s top health official made it clear Thursday that federal hospitals in Mexico City will not cooperate with the capital´s new law permitting abortion in the first 12 weeks.
Instead, Health Secretary José Ángel Córdova Villalobos warned that any doctor who performs a voluntary abortion in a federal health facility will be guilty of a crime and punished.
"The Federal Penal Code is clear," said Córdova Villalobos, speaking at the Mother´s Day re-inauguration of the refurbished Women´s Hospital (Hospital de la Mujer) in Mexico City. "The sanctions are prison time, fines and a suspension of his or her medical license, which can be for several years."
Mexico City is the only entity in the nation where voluntary pregnancy termination is legal. City-run public hospitals offer the procedure for those who cannot afford private care.
The demand is expected to be heavy, however, as more women become aware of their options.
Mayor Marcelo Ebrard has said federal public hospitals located within the city limits - especially those in the IMSS and ISSSTE social security system - should respect the local law and carry their share of the load.
President Calderón´s National Action Party opposed the liberalized abortion law, and Córdova Villalobos´ comments Thursday were consistent with the administration´s stand against federal involvement in the local policy.
The health secretary said any woman covered by IMSS or ISSSTE who seeks to end her pregnancy at a federal facility will be referred to a Mexico City hospital. Córdova Villalobos acknowledged that federal hospitals and clinics actually perform some 400,000 abortions annually across the Republic, but said that most were the result of complications that were causing spontaneous abortions.
Also, most state laws and federal health policy allow termination of pregnancies resulting from rape, or in situations where the patient´s life is in danger.
"Voluntary interruption of a pregnancy is another thing completely," he said. "And those cases will be punished according to federal law." |
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