An 11 year old girl giving birth in Puebla made national headlines in Mexico. Doctors suspect she is the victim of sexual abuse.

    The girl is from San Francisco Totimehuacán, a rural community outside Puebla. She arrived to the Women’s Hospital in the capital city, Puebla, in full labor and having seizures. She was only 31 weeks into the pregnancy and the baby has been in intensive care since then. She now goes to the hospital to feed the baby every for hours.

    Puebla is one of the most conservative states in the country and has very strict laws about abortion, only allowing it under the circumstance of sexual abuse. But even that has come into question and there is a debate on excluding even that circumstance to make abortion illegal in all instances.

    This case illustrates the great challenges in Mexico regarding reproductive health and equal rights for women.

    In the last three years, 18 out of the 31 states in Mexico -–including Baja California—,  have changed their state constitutions to privilege language “defending the right to live from the moment of conception” trampling over the right of Mexican woman “to choose to become mothers, as well as the number of children.”

    Both Baja California and Zacatecas where recently involved in a Supreme Court Case trying to deem the laws as unconstitutional. But judges voted for the constitutionality of the laws and the case is now being taken to International Court.

    It is in this context that events such as the Binational Dialog: 3rd Annual Binational Dialogue on the Status of Women’s Reproductive Rights in Mexico and the U.S. are crucial. The event is going to be held Monday November 14th as a way to discuss such topics in a setting where common citizens, activists, community leaders and health professionals can share their views and experiences.

    The event will be held from 9 to 5 at the School of International Relations & Pacific Studies, Center for U.S. – Mexican Studies at the Institute of the Americas Complex at UCSD.

    It is totally bilingual and interpretation will be provided. Admission is free after pre-registration.

    This is the second time of such event, last year; the event had Consuelo Mejia as the main speaker. She is a top feminist activist and scholar heading the Catholics For a Right to Church in Mexico.

    This year, the forum will have interventions that are crucial for a complex binational reality: Topics such as human trafficking, considered a serious and growing issue by the UN; reproductive rights in Mexico including restrictions on abortion and health services.

    The discussion will include successful collaboration experiences such as Binational Border Health and Fronteras Unidas.

    For those interested in the US, there will be discussion on a creative approach to abortion for Hispanics, and the impact of budget cuts to public Health programs such as less access to early detection tests, free contraception or the prevention and treatment of sexually transmitted diseases.

    The budget constraint of public programs affects Latinas disproportionately, because they are severely underinsured.

    The co-directors for Centro Mujeres will share their experience with Jóvenes en Acción an advocacy group looking to promote engagement in public life amongst teens and young adults.

    Those attending the conference will not only get to listen but also share with some of the speakers in breakout sessions both in the morning and the afternoon.

    If you want to attend, please visit www.planned.org/dialogue

    Directions on how to get to the site are on the registration form. It is recommended you arrive 10 minutes prior to the event in order to get from the parking lot to the event venue.