International
A year on from Argentine abortion law, change is slow
AFP
A year ago Argentina joined the limited ranks of Latin American countries to have legalized abortion, but while that gave hope to millions of women, changing mentalities, practices and infrastructure has proved more difficult.
“In small villages, you go for an ultrasound in the morning and in the afternoon the baker congratulates you on your pregnancy,” Monik Rodriguez, 33, told AFP.
Rodriguez, who has three children, runs a service accompanying women who want to have an abortion in Salta, a conservative Catholic province in the South American country.
Away from the big city of Buenos Aires, where women erupted in celebration when the law was approved, many in more remote and conservative areas of Argentina face the same stigma as before.
“There are still things that need to come out of hiding,” said Rodriguez, who can take up to 125 telephone calls a month as part of the project launched by the Women’s Strength civil association.
“The most important thing is to listen. It’s about trying to overcome the hurdles, accompanying them through the health system so they don’t get lost in the bureaucratic labyrinth.”
Rodriguez takes calls from all sorts: teenagers and first-time mothers to women with large families and even those that are pre-menopausal.
“On this line, abortion is not recommended but neither is motherhood romanticized,” said Rodriguez, who underwent a secret abortion a decade ago when already mother to one child.
“I was late and had an abortion. It went badly and I had to go to hospital. The tests showed I hadn’t been pregnant.
“It was the secrecy that created worry. Along with misinformation, that is what puts us at risk.”
The government estimates that 3,000 women died between 1983 and 2020 in clandestine abortions, of which there were up to 500,000 a year.
– Anti-abortion pressure –
For a century, abortion was only legal in cases of rape or if the mother’s life was at risk.
Legalization has not led to a sudden spate of abortions, particularly in places like Salta.
Miranda Ruiz, 33, is the only doctor in Tartagal — a small town of 75,000 people in Salta — not to exercise her legal right to be a conscientious objector to carrying out abortions.
Anti-abortion groups in the town are influential.
In September, Ruiz was briefly detained following an accusation by the aunt of a 21-year-old patient that she had performed an abortion beyond the authorized limit of 14 weeks.
Feminist groups are demanding that her case be dismissed.
“It is a way of bringing the other doctors to heel,” said Sofia Fernandez, a member of the National Campaign for the Right to Abortion — a collective of 300 feminist organizations that have been fighting for 15 years for change.
They say there are still 1,500 people facing criminal cases over abortions.
The complaint against Ruiz was the only one made in 2021, although there have been 36 court filings against the law, mostly claiming it is unconstitutional.
“Of those, 24 have already been dismissed,” said Valeria Isla, the director of sexual and reproductive health at the health ministry.
– ‘Huge inequality’ –
“There is a huge inequality in access to the practice depending on location,” said Isla.
During the course of 2021, the number of specialist medical teams carrying out abortions rose from 943 to 1,243 despite the pandemic complicating matters.
Distribution of the drug misoprostol, which chemically provokes abortions, rose from 9,000 in 2019 to more than 43,000 in 2021.
“But there is a lot of demand and we’re not able to increase (the number of) these (teams) at the necessary rate. It’s a structural stumbling block,” added Isla.
There were more than 32,000 abortions conducted in public hospitals and clinics in 2021, said Isla, whose big goal for 2022 is to train medical teams specialized in abortions, to make their services more widely available and to inform women of their rights and the tools at their disposal.
That would help Rodriguez avoid taking calls from desperate young teenagers like one “locked in a bathroom crying … she had just dropped a home pregnancy test down the toilet and couldn’t afford to buy another one.”
International
Over 450 bags of human remains found near Jalisco’s World Cup stadium
At least 456 bags containing human remains have been found in the state of Jalisco, Mexico, according to reports from the search collective Guerreros Buscadores de Jalisco. The remains were discovered at various locations, all near Akron Stadium — one of the venues selected for the 2026 FIFA World Cup — said José Raúl Servín García, a member of the organization.
“We are counting approximately 456 bags, more or less, and they are all in the vicinity of Akron Stadium, which is set to be a World Cup venue. Unfortunately, it’s tragic that a World Cup will be held here when there is so much evil,” Servín told Aristegui Noticias. He revealed that the most recent discovery was made in September, although searches in the area began in 2022.
What is most alarming, Servín explained, is that the remains do not all belong to people who disappeared years ago; some of the bodies appear to have been buried less than a year ago, indicating that the clandestine graves are still active.
Among the bags are complete bodies, dismembered parts, and skeletal remains. Servín also reported that search collectives have documented pressure and threats suggesting the involvement or intimidation of organized crime in the handling of bodies within official institutions.
“We know that criminal groups have threatened Forensic Sciences, because they decide which bodies are released and which are not. Families are told that if they know their child is there, they should leave them and not claim the body, or there will be consequences,” he added.
International
Colombia rescues 17 minors linked to ultra-orthodox sect Lev Tahor
Colombian authorities have rescued 17 minors from the ultra-Orthodox Jewish sect Lev Tahor in the northwestern region of the country, Migration Colombia reported on Sunday. Five of the rescued children were listed under international search notices issued by Interpol for kidnapping and human trafficking.
Lev Tahor has been at the center of several recent cases involving child abuse and mistreatment in countries such as Guatemala. Colombian officials said they received alerts about the group’s presence in the country along with several minors, who were transferred to a government-supervised shelter following their rescue.
“We rescued 17 children and adolescents from the ultra-Orthodox Jewish sect Lev Tahor (…) There are international alerts for crimes against minors linked to this community,” Migration Colombia stated on X, sharing a photograph showing several of the minors dressed head-to-toe in black tunics with their faces concealed.
According to a police report, the minors hold various nationalities, including Guatemalan, American, and Canadian. The rescue operation was conducted on Saturday. “There are indications that some may have been abducted, suggesting a possible scenario of human trafficking concealed under religious doctrine,” the report noted.
Interpol has issued red notices for some members of the sect, who are wanted internationally. Authorities indicated that the group had traveled to Colombia “seeking a country where they would not face restrictions on continuing their alleged irregular activities.”
In December 2024, Guatemalan authorities rescued 160 children from the group. Numerous members were arrested and charged with crimes such as human trafficking, forced pregnancy, and the forced marriage of minors.
The sect was founded in the 1980s and established a base in Guatemala in 2013, but has also clashed with authorities in Mexico and Canada.
International
At least 10 dead and 20 injured in highway crash near Morelia
The accident occurred on the highway connecting Morelia, the capital of Michoacán, with the town of Pátzcuaro, the Morelia police reported in a statement.
“Preliminary information indicates there are around 10 fatalities and nearly 20 people injured. Emergency teams are carrying out extraction efforts and providing medical assistance at the scene,” the department said. It added that traffic on the roadway remains closed while rescue crews continue their work.
So far, authorities have not specified the cause of the crash.
Road accidents are common in Mexico, often caused by excessive speed or poor vehicle maintenance, particularly involving buses or cargo trucks.
In September, a truck carrying nearly 50,000 liters of gas exploded at an intersection in Mexico City, resulting in 32 deaths.
Over 450 bags of human remains found near Jalisco’s World Cup stadium
Colombia rescues 17 minors linked to ultra-orthodox sect Lev Tahor
At least 10 dead and 20 injured in highway crash near Morelia
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