Published: March 28, 2008

“Adoption in the womb”

Conservative legislators in Mexico’s capital city propose law that would give mothers an alternative to abortion

With the goal of offering an alternative to women who may be considering abortion, members of the National Action Party in the Legislative Assembly of Mexico’s capital city, the Federal District, have proposed a reform to the Code of Civil Procedures that would add “adoption in the mother’s womb.”

The Federal District, which includes Mexico City, is the only area in Mexico in which abortion is legal for any reason up to the 12th week of pregnancy. The Supreme Court of Mexico is currently in the process of deciding whether the law legalizing abortion in the Federal District violates the country’s constitution.

In a March 26 press conference, Assemblywoman Celina Saavedra said that, under the proposed change to the civil code, women who don’t want or who are not able to take care of their unborn children will be able to give them up for adoption before delivery.

An incentive for the biological mother would be that the adopting parents, if necessary, would pay the costs of pre-natal care and delivery, since many women decide to abort simply because they don’t have the economic means to defray those costs.

The government would set up a registry of both unborn children available for adoption and couples interested in adoption, in such a way that both parties could have legal certainty. In the event that the biological mother, after giving birth, changes her mind and decides she does not want to give up her child for adoption, the government would compensate the adopting parents, and would be prohibited from applying any sanctions against the biological mother.

Assemblywomen María de la Paz Quiñónez, also of the National Action Party, explained that the initiative also provides for the installation in Mexico City’s public hospitals what are called “adoption windows,” or “baby postal boxes,” which are presently functioning in several countries, including Austria, Switzerland, Hungary, Italy and the Czech Republic.

“The idea is to provide a physical space in all the public hospitals to receive the unwanted babies, to turn them over to a public or private shelter and to give them all the medical care necessary to guarantee their health,” Quiñónez said.

Both assemblywomen explained that another goal of the initiative is to reduce to 30 days the time it takes to complete the legal procedures to adopt a child. Presently this process takes a minimum of six months -- and can take up to five years -- “as a consequence of the extremely bureaucratic system we have.”

In April 2007, unrestricted abortion before the twelfth week of pregnancy was legalized by a coalition of parties in the capital city’s Legislative Assembly –with the sole opposition coming from the National Action Party.

Since then, more than 6,000 babies have been aborted in Mexico City’s public hospitals. On Feb. 15, a 15- year-old girl died while having an abortion during her 16th week of pregnancy at a public hospital.