Abortion Myths
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Decriminalization would lead to an increase in abortions: FALSE
Since decriminalization in 2007, the number of induced abortions has decreased in Mexico City. According to data from the Mexico City Secretariat of Health, although the trend increased during the initial years of implementation of the LTP program, it quickly slowed and even declined in recent years. Liberalizing abortion in the legal framework does not necessarily encourage more women and other pregnant people to terminate a pregnancy; rather, it provides a safe space in which to do so. For this reason, in order to guarantee and respect the right to health, abortion should be a health service that is available upon request.
Since the decriminalization of abortion in Mexico City, how has the annual total number of LTPs changed?
Total LTP procedures performed (and growth rate from April 2007 to July 2025)
Source: created by GIRE, based on Mexico City Health Secretariat LTP data
Download the data here
The sharp difference in the number of LTP procedures performed in 2007 compared to 2008 is due in part to the fact that the program began to be implemented in April; therefore, only nine months were counted in the first year. Beginning in 2014, a clear downward trend in the number of LTP procedures can be observed.
In 2020, the decrease in LTP procedures may be related to the significant disruption of health services caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, which were gradually restored over the following years. Another possible reason for the decline in abortion in Mexico City may be related to decriminalization in other federal entities. That is, women and other pregnant people are no longer forced to travel to Mexico City to have an abortion, as some are now able to do so in their own state or in another nearby state where abortion has also been decriminalized. In other words, although the number of LTP procedures increased between 2021 and 2023 compared to 2020, the overall trend continues to decline.
A similar pattern can be observed in Argentina. According to data from the Argentinian Ministry of Health, while 73,487 pregnancy terminations were recorded in 2021, between January and September 2022 the country’s provinces reported only 59,267 cases. In other words, since the decriminalization of abortion in Argentina (up to the fourteenth week of pregnancy) in December 2020, there has been a 19.35 percent decrease in the number of abortions performed there.
