From Stigma to Solidarity: A Journey in Transforming Abortion Care

“They label me as the doctor who performs abortions”, reflects a dedicated gynecologist working in the rural south of Mexico.

Sabrina, based at a public hospital, faced significant challenges due to restrictive abortion laws that permit abortions only under narrow exceptions, such as in cases of rape. During her medical training, she received no education on abortion care. Although involved in the public Safe Abortion Program, Sabrina was initially unaware of the broader abortion movement or the existence of acompañantes—feminist activists who support self-managed abortion through a holistic model, thus enhancing access to safe abortion in the region.

In Mexico, access to safe abortion is still limited, especially for the most marginalized and vulnerable people. Social stigma and laws criminalize both those who have abortions and providers, which acts as one of the principal barriers to safe abortion. Being a pro-choice physician in Mexico often means feeling stigmatized, unsafe, and isolated, there being a gap between peers as well as between the medical sector and the wider abortion movement.

The Mexican Network of Prochoice Female Physicians: Building Support and Expanding Access 

To address these issues, the Mexican Network of Prochoice Female Physicians [Red de Médicas por el Derecho a Decidir – México] was established as the first nationwide network dedicated to uniting and supporting female physicians who are abortion providers and/or advocates. The Network also links these physicians with the broader abortion movement. This innovative Network offers peer support and training to its members and fosters collaborations with acompañantes, thereby enhancing access to safe abortion in Mexico.

Since forming part of the RMDD, Sabrina feels that she is no longer alone. She feels supported, knowing there are other physicians like her as well as abortion activists, with whom she can exchange experiences and knowledge. This strengthened her work as a gynecologist in the public sector and allowed her to expand her practice to abortion provision, for example, at advanced gestational age, becoming one of the only physicians in the state to do provide such services. She now collaborates with local acompañantes who refer people in need of medical care to her, while she refers to them for personalized accompaniment which can´t be provided within the health system.

 

Increased Confidence and Expanded Care 

“When I started as an abortion provider, I entered the world of safe abortion with fear, with ignorance of many things, with many stigmas, hiding… Now, I have gained a lot of confidence, thanks to all the training, to everyone I have met, to all the women in the Network. Having a support network, (…) has made me not be afraid, to act, to know for sure that I am protected, that women are protected, that it is safe. Yes, the truth is that much has changed, I am no longer afraid to talk about the subject.”

The Network´s peer-support and training has reduced stigma, increased knowledge, resilience, perceived personal safety, and openness about their pro-abortion stance in its members, whilst fostering collaborations with acompañantes. This empowered the more than hundred physicians in the Network to engage as abortion advocates and/or providers, thereby increasing access to safe abortion in Mexico.

“The stigmatization and isolation of pro-choice physicians has historically limited their impact on safe abortion access. Uniting these professionals has allowed them to support each other and combine their strengths, which opened possibilities for advocacy, service provision, and collaborations that were previously unimaginable”.

The Network´s innovative model is now being shared with organizations and institutions in Mexico and other Latin American countries, where it may serve as a successful example of organizing pro-choice physicians and provides the methods to foster interactions between medical professionals and accompaniment networks. Funding for this innovation allows for the dissemination of the Network´s successful example.

For Sabrina, forming part of the Network has changed her life. She no longer feels guilty or afraid. She feels strengthened in her actions as an abortion provider and her belief that she is doing the right thing: improving women’s health and wellbeing: “I sometimes felt alone in the world, because it is difficult to work as a doctor in public hospitals. Now I feel part of something bigger, and that there are many women with me. I would like to work more with acompañantes, because they can contribute something else than I can. I think that different knowledge, different opinions, different eyes, can contribute something.

Learn more about the innovator here.

This story is shared by CISIDAT.

Names of individuals in the story have been changed to protect their privacy.