Legislation, knowledge and attitudes of health professionals in Mexico regarding abortion

The purpose of this study is to describe the knowledge and attitudes regarding abortion of a sample of health professionals in Mexico. In particular, we aim to explore their association with the practice of abortion and the care of post-abortion complications, taking into consideration the present legal framework in Mexico. The data come from an anonymous and computerized survey applied to participants attending a national meeting of gynecology and obstetrics in Mexico in 2009 (n=418). The attitudes of health professionals in relation to abortion play a key role in promoting access to both medical and surgical abortion services. We did not find a statistical association between living in a largely restrictive federal entity and the practice of abortions, which may be explained by the lack of knowledge that these survey participants had about abortion laws in their federal entity. This lack of knowledge about abortion legislation can hinder a woman's access to these services even when the legal framework such access.