Safe, legal, accessible for all

Mexico City's legislature has voted to legalize abortion in the first trimester. La Jornada reports on the story, and the BBC provides this information:

There are an estimated 200,000 illegal abortions in Mexico each year.

Of women who opt for illegal procedures, at least 1,500 women die during botched operations performed in unhygienic backstreet clinics.

Many victims of rape are denied access to legal abortion, a Human Rights Watch report said last year.

This story, "Illegal abortions 'killing South American women'" gives the wider context for Latin America. Septic abortions kill or maim tens of thousands of women every year in Latin America. Last year's report by the World Health Organization tells how lack of access to contraception affects the health of millions of women world-wide.