The feminist movement and the development of political discourse on voluntary motherhood in Mexico

References 

1. I am speaking for myself as a feminist in this paper, not for the feminist movement in Mexico, in which different tendencies co-exist. I do subscribe to the views of a substantial tendency within Mexican feminist thought, however, and some of my observations are shared by some of the groups that make up the movement.
2. For a partial history, see: Lamas M . El feminismo mexicano y la lucha por la despenalización del aborto . Política y Cultura. . 1992;1:9–22 (Autumn)
3. See Mateos Cándano M . Aspectos medicos y de salud . In:  Leal LM editors. El Problema del Aborto en Mexico . Mexico: Miguel Angel Porrúa; 1980;
4. Lamas M , Martinez A , Tarres ML , et al.   Building bridges: the growth of popular feminism in Mexico . In:  Basu A editors. The Challenge of Local Feminisms . Boulder: Westview Press; 1995;
5. In 1976, the PRI was the only party to run a presidential candidate.
6. Tarres ML , Hita G , Lozano A . Actitudes y estrategias de los diversos agentes sociales y políticos que participan en el debate sobre el aborto en la prensa mexicana 1976–1989. November . (Unpublished) 1991;

   This paper analyses the press coverage of the 1976 proposals and the three events of the 1980s.

7. I was responsible for this advertisement. The women's studies departments of the UAM (Metropolitan University) and UNAM (National University), the party that later became the PRD, and the ruling PRI, two feminist groups and one women's network signed it. It was published in three principal newspapers: Excélsior, La Jornada and El Día. 5 April 1989.
8. For a general overview, see Elu MC . Abortion yes, abortion no, in Mexico . Reproductive Health Matters. . 1993;1:58–66 (May)
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9. Two famous National College members wrote in support Villoro L . ¿Debe castigarse el aborto? . La Jornada . 1991;11 and 12: January Pérez Tamayo R . Sobre el aborto . La Joruada . 1991; 25 February
10. Monsivdis C . De cómo un dia amaneció Pro Vida con la novedad de vivir en una sociedad laica . debate feminista. . 1991;3:82–88 (Sept)
11. Petchesky R . The body as property: a feminist re-vision . In:  Ginsburg F ,  Rapp R editor. Conceiving the New World Order . Berkeley: University of California Press; 1994;
12. López Garcia R . El aborto como problema de salud pública . In:  Elu MC ,  Langer A editor. Maternidad sin Riesgos en Mexico . Mexico: Comité Promotor de la Iniciativa por una Maternidad sin Riesgos; 1994;

    Dr López Garcia was at that time general medical sub-director, National Institute of Perinatology, Mexico City.
13. Programa National de Población, 1995–2000. México. Poder Ejecutivo Federal. Secretaría de Gobernación, México.

14. The official number of maternal deaths, according to the Instituto Nacional de Estadística, Geografia e Informática for 1992 was 1399 and for 1993 was 1268. Indicadores básicos de salud reproductiva yplanificación familiar, (CONAPO, Mexico, 1996) states that abortion was the third cause of maternal mortality for 1992–1994.

15. The first poll, by the staff of Este País, was called Opiniones sobre el aborto. Este País. 1991; 8(November):11–13. The second poll was Pick de Weiss S, Givaudan M, 1991. El aborto inducido y su despenalización en cuatro localidades. Este Pais. 8(November):25–27.

16. The sample included 2595 people and was randomly chosen, half women and half men, according to age, socio-economic level, from six geographical zones and three main cities. The results of the first poll were published in Lamas M. 1992. El aborto en México. Nexos. 176(Agosto). A comparison of the results was published as a GIRE report.
17. Lamas M . Desconstrucción simbólica y laicismo: dos requisitos imprescindibles para la defensa de los derechos reproductivos . In: Paper presented at Sociedad Mexicana de Demografía . El Colegio de Mexico . 1995; (In press)
18. Chaneton J . El aborto como objeto de discusión pdblica . In: Paper presented at International Congress on Literature and Cultural Criticism, School of Philosophy and Letters . University of Buenos Aires; 1994; 15–18 November
19. In: La Jornada . 15 August 1995;
20. Lamas M . El PAN contra CONAPO . La Jornada . 1995; 23 September
21. In: La Jornada . 14 September 1995;
22. In: La Jornada . 15 September 1995;
23. In: La Jornada . 30 August 1995;
24. In: El Heraldo . 30 August 1995;
25. Memorandum No. 95/33 of the Mexican Archdiocese.

26. Testimonies from the Tribunal for the Defence of Reproductive Rights, organised by the Women's Health Network of Mexico City, 28 May 1996. Video produced by GIRE, 1997.
27. Azaola E , Nahmed S . El aborto en zonas rurales e indígenas . Revista Fem. . 1977;2:28–32 (January–March)
28. I take this definition from Camou A . ¿Identidades a medida? . debate feminista . 1996;14:38–51 (October)

29. This is GIRE's evaluation based on its participation in more than 50 public debates on abortion in the last two years. One of the most important was in March 1997, at the Faculty of Medicine of the National University, where the auditorium with seats for 1000 was filled to the brim.