The experience and meanings of the legal interruption of pregnancy in young women from Mexico City and the Metropolitan Area

Abstract

The objective of the study was to explore the experience and meanings of the Legal Interruption of Pregnancy (LIP) with medication, in nine young women living in Mexico City and the Metropolitan Area. From a phenomenological position, an interpretive methodology was used. Using the in-depth interview technique, the women’s narratives about the abortion process were recovered. The results indicate that the medical procedure is an acceptable and advantageous method for abortion. However, it can also lead to impractical and uncomfortable situations, and even result in complications when only misoprostol is used without mifepristone. The context of legality results in practical and symbolic consequences in the abortion experience. Accompaniment and support from other people are very relevant in both the experience and meaning of abortion.