Mexico emerges as a destination for Americans seeking reproductive health services – not for the first time

Cancún is one destination for American women seeking an abortion. (Photo by Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images) Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images by Alejandra Marquez Guajardo, Michigan State University When its six-week abortion ban went into effect on May 1, 2024, Florida joined nearly two dozen other U.S. states that ban abortion or greatly restrict it. These laws came into effect after the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision to overturn Roe v. Wade ended nearly 50 years of the constitutional right to abortion in the United States. Florida health officials in 2023 reported more than 84,000 abortions statewide, including nearly 7,800 from out-of-state residents. The Tampa Bay Times recently reported that about 2 in 5 abortions in Florida over the past six years occurred in the first six weeks of pregnancy, meaning that roughly 60% of the procedures performed over that time frame would be illegal under the new restrictions. The new laws in Florida and other states are sending some Americans across the border into Mexico to access an abortion, where the procedure was legalized in recent years. Clinics in Mexico do not require proof of residency, so solid numbers about who they are treating are hard to come by....