Mexico City Legalizes Abortion

Gay rights battle raging across Latin America

(NEWSER) - The same-sex Mexican wedding will be born tomorrow as a new law puts Mexico City on the front lines of the gay marriage battle raging across Latin America. But even as gay couples line up to tie the knot, the Catholic Church and President Felipe Calderon's conservative party are gearing up to fight the law, the Washington Post reports. More»

Raped Mexican girl wasn't told she could abort

(NEWSER) - An abortion rights battle is heating up in Mexico, with activists claiming officials didn't tell a 10-year-old girl raped by her stepfather that she could abort her fetus. In the girl's state of Quintana Roo, abortion is only legal in cases of rape, and only during the first 3 months of pregnancy, which the girl passed a month ago. Quintana Roo authorities say the girl and fetus are healthy, but a state legislator warns that a pregnancy at that age is a risk to both. More»

Latin American first gives gay couples new rights

(NEWSER) - Mexico City is set to become the first Latin American capital to say "hola" to gay weddings after lawmakers there approved a bill yesterday giving gays full marriage rights, including the right to adopt. The bill is expected to be signed into law by Mayor Marcelo Ebrard. "We are putting an end to segregation and stigmatization of a sector of society," declared a legislator who voted for the measure. Activists burst into cheers and tears when the bill was passed. More»

(NEWSER) - A single hijacker took control of a jet out of Cancun with more than 100 people aboard before forcing it to land in Mexico City and freeing the passengers, CNN reports. Mexican authorities have detained the Bolivian hijacker, who falsely claimed to have a bomb and demanded to see Mexican President Felipe Calderon. No casualties were reported, and no details were immediately available about his motivation. More»

Not even 'conservative issue' for older generation: Goodman

(NEWSER) - Abortion has become “the purity test for remaining in the GOP’s inner circle,” writes Ellen Goodman in the Boston Globe: The Republican Party is shedding and shunning abortion-rights supporters it once called its own. But it wasn’t always that way—even “Mr. Conservative” Barry Goldwater supported a woman’s right to choose, saying it wasn’t “a conservative issue.” More»