Since the end of Roe v. Wade, a patchwork of restrictive abortion laws have put abortion care out of reach for many American women. A new MSI clinic in Cancun aims to help.
Before the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, the average American lived just 25 miles from an abortion provider. While many women had to travel for care, the journey was often just to the nearest big city, not necessarily out of state.
The end of Roe changed that landscape dramatically. Now, 14% of Americans live more than 200 miles from the nearest abortion clinic. The average woman lives 86 miles from an abortion provider.
Women in the South have been particularly impacted. In Texas, for example, almost everyone in the state is more than 200 miles from the nearest legal abortion provider. For women who have to travel to access care, the most affordable and convenient option might in fact be across the border.
Fundación MSI, MSI Reproductive Choices’ Mexico program, opened a new abortion clinic in Cancun in late 2023. The clinic will expand access to Mexican women and offer a lifeline to Americans who have been denied abortion rights since the overturning of Roe v Wade.
More than 5.6 million U.S. tourists travel to Cancun every year. Most states offer direct, affordable flights, making the new clinic an accessible option for those who need to travel for care.
The clinic will offer both medical and surgical abortion at lower prices than are typically charged in the US. It will also provide a range of sexual and reproductive healthcare, including contraception and STI testing. All call center and clinic staff speak both English and Spanish.
To expand the options available to women, Fundación MSI has also launched an early medical abortion telemedicine service in Mexico.
Araceli López-Nava, MSI Reproductive Choices’ regional managing director for Latin America, said:
“In Mexico, there is a long history of women helping women to access safe abortion care and we’re proud that we can continue that tradition.
Everyone should be able to access abortion care in their communities, so it’s heartbreaking to see people in the U.S. being stripped of their rights. But we stand in solidarity with women in the U.S. and are here for them as long as they need us.”
