Over 30 People Injured in Feminist Marches for Abortion Legalization in Mexico, Official Says

MEXICO CITY (Sputnik) - As many as 37 police officers and civilians sustained various injuries during the rallies for legalizing abortions by the feminist movement in the Mexican capital, the city's public safety deputy minister said on Wednesday.

"Upon the end of the marches, 37 people are injured including 27 police officers, one colleague from the interior ministry, and nine civilians (5 men and 4 women). Four police officers needed hospitalization," Marcela Figueroa tweeted.

Already at night, police and entrepreneurs started preparations for the marches in Mexico City. Shop windows and doors were covered with metal shields; monuments, historical buildings, and the National Palace, which is a final destination of the rallies, were fenced. Such demonstrations are always attended by aggressive female extremists wearing balaclava helmets and armed with paint sprays, chains, hammers, and Molotov cocktails.

On Tuesday, which is International Safe Abortion Day, feminist organizations of Colombia, Venezuela, Guatemala, and Salvador also staged protests to seek decriminalization of abortions, which are unavailable for most Latin Americans.

In Mexico, abortions fall under the local regulations and used to be legal in four states out of 32. On 7 September, the Mexican Supreme Court ruled the ban on abortions up to 12 weeks of pregnancy unconstitutional, but the precedent has not been reflected yet in the legislation of 28 states, where the medical procedure is punished by up to three years imprisonment, unless in cases of rape or certain medical conditions.