Mexico’s abandoned newborns: A tragedy driven by lack of sex education and the criminalization of abortion

The scene was recorded by a security camera and broadcast throughout Mexico. In the Industrial neighborhood — in the Gustavo A. Madero borough of Mexico City — a car parked on the sidewalk. A woman got out of the vehicle, pulled down her pants, and squatted down. Within minutes, she gave birth to a baby girl, whom she left on the street. She then got back in the vehicle and was driven away.

A cyclist who was passing by — upon hearing the newborn’s cries — alerted the Ministry of Citizen Security. Officers rushed to the scene and took the newborn into protective care.

Over the past seven months, at least eight similar cases of newborns being abandoned have made headlines in Mexico City and State of Mexico, which surrounds the capital. These incidents have highlighted a structural problem that — according to various specialists — has always existed. However, factors such as a lack of sex education, the criminalization of abortion and widespread media coverage have made it more visible.

Between 2020 and 2024, at least 5,790 minors were victims of abandonment or neglect in Mexico. And 1,282 minors — between the ages of one and 17 — were treated in hospitals for these reasons in 2024, according to the Network for Children’s Rights in Mexico (REDIM). This represents a 616.2% increase compared to 2010. Regarding infants, cases of abandonment in hospitals managed by the Ministry of Health increased from 50 in 2020 to 107 in 2024.

Rafael Castelán, president of the board of directors of REDIM, says poverty is one of the causes of the problem. The specialist notes that Mexico is a country where one in every two children and adolescents live in this situation. Poverty compromises living conditions, such as access to education, information and a “dignified life.”

“It’s said that seven out of 10 girls, boys and adolescents [in Mexico] have experienced some form of violence in their homes, which doesn’t just stop at physical violence. It also extends to sexual violence, and that’s another underlying cause. An adolescent or young person who has experienced violence in their home — which has strict rules — will lack information about sexual education. There have been families who have kept pregnancies hidden, practically until [the child or teen is] already in labor,” says Castelán.

Mexico, a “punitive state”

Two other cases that garnered media attention occurred this past August. On August 23, in the Tacubaya neighborhood of the Miguel Hidalgo borough of Mexico City, a four-month-old baby was abandoned on the street. He suffered from hypothermia and his parents were arrested. And, two days later, on August 25, a newborn was abandoned in the restroom of the Metropolitan Autonomous University (UAM) metro station, along Line 8 of the Mexico City Metro. She was rescued, but died in a hospital just a few days later.

Another notorious case is that of Lucio and Diana, ages 18 and 21, who abandoned a newborn in the municipality of Tultitlán, in the State of Mexico, after an induced abortion. This incident went viral, highlighting various societal issues, such as a lack of access to sex education and the criminalization of abortion. Castelán affirms that Mexicans still live in a “punitive state,” where — when it comes to adolescents who commit these types of acts — they are directly sanctioned, both socially and legally.

“When very young people are involved in these types of cases, it must be analyzed in greater depth, and we must not only focus on the sentence, but rather examine what other factors exist beyond these conditions that led to that adolescent or those adolescents committing this act, and use that understanding to develop public policies for support,” Castelán tells EL PAÍS via video call.

Castelán believes that teachers in schools lack the necessary tools to educate students about sexuality. Additionally, numerous prejudices and taboos still exist in a society that limits the free exercise of sexuality and reproductive rights. He also points to the ultraconservative wave that has been growing in recent years, through which anti-rights groups have placed restrictions on teachers, in order to prohibit them from talking about sex in the classroom.

REDIM also points out the consequences of IMSS-Bienestar, the centralized federal health model. The organization refers to the integration of health services in 23 states and Mexico City, which is intended to provide universal, free medical care to the population that doesn’t have social security.

Currently, there are reports of shortages of medicines and health supplies in public Mexican hospitals. And, when people go to be attended, they not only find no gauze or alcohol, but also no contraceptives.

“I don’t think it’s because of a lack of funding. It’s a matter of logistics and the operation of this new system, which — as we can see — isn’t taking off. While there was already a lot of bureaucracy to obtain a contraceptive method as simple as a condom, now there are even more obstacles. This shortage is causing not only teenagers to become pregnant at a young age, but it may also be causing a lack of compliance, such as when it comes to abortion access. We’ve found states where misoprostol and mifepristone, for example, aren’t arriving,” Castelán laments.

Demystifying motherhood

Ninde Molre is the director of the #Abortistasmx initiative. A specialist in gender and law at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), she emphasizes that situations like these — involving the abandonment of newborns — demonstrate that continuing to criminalize abortion after 12 weeks of gestation (as abortion is legal in the first trimester in Mexico City and 15 of the 31 states) is a problem.

Molre believes we need to stop romanticizing pregnancy. She says it’s necessary to demystify the idea that all women develop a maternal instinct when they become pregnant. To begin with, she explains, not all pregnancies are the same. Not all women present symptoms or miss their periods — and some don’t even know that they’re going through this process until they enter into labor.

“You’re living your normal life, then suddenly, you have a lot of cramps… and then a baby comes out. It’s a very shocking situation that causes people to make decisions out of shock and anxiety,” Molre notes. “We have to reflect on the fact that not all pregnancies occur the same way. Some are the result of sexual violence, while others may be the result of a failed fertility method, among other causes,” the lawyer explains via phone call.

Molre states that as long as the criminalization of abortion based solely on a person’s choice — without requiring justification beyond their own decision — remains in effect, it encourages situations that cause real social harm. “The fact that abortion continues to be a crime after the 12th week creates a barrier for people when they discover that they’re pregnant after that time. When they go to health centers and don’t have a valid reason, they’ll be denied. That already sends a message to a person who is trying by all means to avoid pregnancy,” the gender-specialized lawyer explains.

Luis Peña is the head of the General Directorate of Legal Representation and Restitution of Rights for Children and Adolescents, which is part of the Federal Attorney General’s Office for the Protection of Children and Adolescents. He believes that the public health system still has a very important role to play. “Work is being done to make abortion a truly accessible, affordable option that’s known to everyone,” he assures EL PAÍS by telephone.

However, he also says that the mission of the Attorney General’s Office is to provide an option for women who are pregnant and unable to terminate the pregnancy. He says that, if they’re already close to term, they have the safe option of having this agency — within one of the federal entities — take care of the baby, if for some reason they cannot assume responsibility.

“They won’t be tried or criminalized. An administrative process will simply be followed so they understand the legal, psychological and social repercussions of this decision. What concerns us and occupies our attention is resolving the legal status of these children, so that they can be placed in a family environment as soon as possible. It’s crucial that they be integrated into a new family that’s already certified, evaluated and supervised by the state,” Peña concludes.

Translated by Avik Jain Chatlani.

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