Hundreds of women took to the streets of Guadalajara yesterday to demand that abortion be free, safe and free in the framework of September 28, the date on which the Global Day of Action for Safe Access to Abortion is commemorated, established by the Assembly of the Latin American Feminist Movement in 1990.
They began on the esplanade of the Expiatory Temple located at the intersection of Enrique Díaz de León and Vallarta avenues, where the collectives began to meet at 3:00 p.m., and where they held some workshops and painted posters.
They arrived at Hidalgo Avenue already concentrated inside a fence that they built with their handkerchiefs until they reached Plaza Liberación, where they gathered to share their manifesto, in which they spoke about women who have decided to have abortions in secret, even being part of religious communities, they said.
They also regretted that a year after the Supreme Court of Justice of Mexico declared it unconstitutional to criminalize abortion in an absolute manner, and ruled in favor of guaranteeing the right of women and pregnant people to decide without facing criminal consequences, in Jalisco no laws have been harmonized, and abortion continues to be classified as a crime.
The protest was declared over around 7:30 pm, and the women and groups began to withdraw from the place.
At least two attacks were identified during the protest, which left at least one man injured.
The first of them occurred on the esplanade of the Expiatory Temple before the groups left. It was a man who was trying to stop one of the protesters, who was apparently throwing a bottle of water at the Catholic community that was guarding the premises.
A third man intervened when he saw that another protester was approaching with a bat, and threw it to the ground “to protect him,” causing the first to fall, and his head hit the ground.
Women state police officers and women from the road police arrived at the point to disperse the altercation. The wounded man was treated by personnel from SAMU Jalisco, who removed him from the scene and transferred him in an ambulance to receive medical attention.
The second attack occurred in Plaza Liberación, where a man began to argue with one of the women attending the protest, who sprayed him with aerosol paint to keep him away.
The subject snatched the can from him and began to struggle with it. Trying to flee, he collided with a bicycle and fell, being hit by some other attendees. However, he managed to flee and was later removed by road policewomen, who ordered him to leave, while Guadalajara police officers withdrew the demonstrators so that they would not follow him.