“Our office has encouraged and will continue to promote efforts towards a local solution. We were in constant contact with Harris County house staff and constables representatives. Both parties indicated that they had had productive discussions and had reached an agreement on the resolution of the complaint. Although it is in the law of the Court of Commissioners to hire a legal team to take legal action against this office, this action is frivolous and unnecessary. We do not see how this measure supports ongoing negotiations or brings Harris County closer to a speedy resolution of this issue. Regardless, we will continue to work diligently with Harris County staff to pave the way for a Texas-compliant budget. For 20 years, Ipas has worked in Hidalgo – and across Mexico – to train health workers in abortion care and provide women and their communities with information on sexual and reproductive health, including abortion. From now on, Ipas will support the introduction of abortion services in Hidalgo`s public health facilities with ongoing training and support to facilities. Advocacy work to legalize abortion in the rest of Mexico will also continue. Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo called for a special session of the Court of Commissioners on Wednesday to allow outside attorneys to file a lawsuit against state officials, including Texas Auditor, Glenn Hegar, in response to the auditor`s recent complaints about Harris County`s budget decisions under Chapter 120 of the Texas Local Government Code. With abortion now legal, the state of Hidalgo must take the necessary steps to make abortion services universally accessible, including training health workers, providing quality clinical counselling, ensuring well-equipped facilities, and providing accurate information to women on access to care. Prior to this historic change in the law, abortion was only legal in very limited cases, for example: rape, fetal abnormalities and when a woman`s health or life was in danger.
Many women in Hidalgo resorted to illegal and clandestine abortions – often using dangerous methods that put their health and lives at risk. In the state of Mexico, where abortion has been legal since 2007, health data shows that nearly 1,300 women from Hidalgo have gone there to access safe and legal abortion and avoid the risk of prosecution or detention in their home state. The Mexican state of Hidalgo made history on June 30 by becoming the third state in the country to legalize abortion up to the 12th week of pregnancy. Hidalgo joins the states of Oaxaca and Mexico City and changes its laws to guarantee women`s reproductive rights. “This is another example of Governor Abbott cruelly trying to hurt the residents of Harris County for political reasons. In this latest cascade, he and his far-right allies threaten to defuse Harris County itself — programs ranging from public health and public safety to veterans` services and more. They are prepared to harm our people – who are also their constituents – by fabricating a cynical narrative that has no legal or factual basis. I am proud to tout our $1.4 billion in justice and security funding, and I will continue to fight to keep Harris County fully funded, including through legal actions. Although Latin America has some of the strictest abortion laws in the world, a growing movement has called for restrictions to be eased and Argentina legalized the procedure in December.
[1/4] Women hold green handkerchiefs during a demonstration in support of safe and legal abortion in Mexico City, Mexico, February 19, 2020. REUTERS/Edgard Garrido/File Photo According to The Associated Press, Hegar said Harris County officials cut funding for his police offices in the current fiscal year and would cut funding again next year. Harris County officials have fired back at claims they would cut law enforcement funding, saying they have actually increased law enforcement funding and proposed a budget for the next fiscal year that would provide $1.4 billion for justice and security, accounting for 75 percent of the county`s budget and most of what the county has ever allocated to the public safety. Hegar accused the county of ending a policy that would have allowed police offices to automatically carry unspent ministry funds from one fiscal year to the next, resulting in a loss of more than $3 million. He also accused the county of cutting funding for constables by up to $12 million for the 2022-2023 fiscal year. The Hidalgo Law, which follows the same conditions, will enter into force as soon as it is published in the official state gazette. Only the huge capital, Mexico City, and the southern state of Oaxaca also allow women to opt for abortion as long as they are within 12 weeks of pregnancy. “This is a triumph for the Green Wave and feminist movements, but above all it is a triumph for the women of Hidalgo and surrounding areas and for those of us who fought for equality, human rights, sexual and reproductive health and social justice,” said Maria Antonieta Alcalde Castro, director of Ipas Central America and Mexico.
MEXICO CITY, June 30 (Reuters) – Lawmakers in the Mexican state of Hidalgo voted on Wednesday to lift sentences for elective abortions, making Hidalgo the third state in the predominantly Catholic country where women can terminate their pregnancies. Hidalgo denied the allegations, saying in a press release that the Harris County Commissioners Court has increased the annual budgets of all public safety agencies every year since it took office in 2019, including the eight police offices and the sheriff`s office, which has primary responsibility for fighting violent crime and responding to 911 calls. This year, the press release says Harris County has tentatively approved a record $1.4 billion justice and security budget, equivalent to two-thirds of the county`s General Fund budget. In addition, instead of leaving the funds unspent by the constables, the Court of Commissioners instituted policies that resulted in millions of dollars of investment in public safety. “We will continue to work until safe abortion is recognized and guaranteed as a right for all women,” said Alcalde Castro. Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said Monday that there are at least three bidders left for Citi`s local retail arm, Banamex. Harris County leaders say Hegar`s efforts would prevent the county from passing a budget that increases Harris County law enforcement funding by $96.7 million, including new investments in sheriff`s and police offices and a proposed $10 million increase in the prosecutors` office. If their efforts are successful, all these investments will be reduced. Hidalgo, which borders Mexico City, previously only allowed abortion in certain cases, even if the mother had been raped. Several dozen women, dressed in green bandanas symbolizing the abortion rights movement, erupted in cheers and applause outside the session when the vote count was announced, local media showed.
Chris Bryan, spokesman for the Comptroller`s Office, issued the following statement: The initiative passed with 16 votes in favor and one abstention with 28 lawmakers present, the Hidalgo Congress said on Twitter. READ: Harris County Chief charged with violating state police law, report says.
