Laurence Henry Tribe El aborto: guerra de absolutos México: Fondo de Cultura Económica, 2013, 502 pp.

Objective Many reasons inform women’s reproductive decision-making. This paper aims to present the reasons women give for obtaining induced abortions in 14 countries. Study design We examined nationally representative data from 14 countries collected in official statistics, population-based surveys, and facility-based surveys of abortion patients. In each country, we calculated the percentage distribution of women who have abortions by main reason given for the abortion. We examined these reasons across countries and within countries by women’s sociodemographic characteristics (age, marital status, educational attainment, and residence). Where data are available, we also studied the multiple reasons women give for having an abortion. Results In most countries, the most frequently cited reasons for having an abortion were socioeconomic concerns or limiting childbearing. With some exceptions, little variation existed in the reasons given by women’s sociodemographic characteristics. Data from three countries where multiple reasons could be reported in the survey showed that women often have more than one reason for having an abortion. Conclusion This study shows that women have abortions for a variety of reasons, and provides a broad picture of the circumstances that inform women’s decisions to have abortions. Implications Future research should examine in greater depth the personal, social, economic, and health factors that inform a woman’s decision to have an abortion as these reasons may shed light on the potential consequences that unintended births can have on women’s lives.

El tema central de este artículo es la evolución jurídica del aborto en México. El aborto debe ser atendido por el Estado como un problema de salud pública. Su penalización ha sido totalmente ineficaz para abatir los altos índices de abortos clandestinos que, en muchas ocasiones, culminan en daños irreversibles y hasta en la muerte de muchas mujeres desvalidas socialmente. La despenalización de algunos abortos no implica fomentar este hecho; en cambio, su penalización significa una grave violación a los derechos fundamentales de la mujer: En la actualidad, el debate jurídico y científico tiende a precisar si con el aborto se lesiona la vida de una persona o, tan sólo, se lesiona la de un embrión que a las doce semanas todavía no ha adquirido la condición de persona, por carecer de las conexiones y las funciones nerviosas necesarias para adquirir dicha condición. La tendencia de la mayoría de los países se orienta hacia la despenalización del aborto.