Inequalities in access to and quality of abortion services in Mexico: Can task-sharing be an opportunity to increase legal and safe abortion care?

First-trimester abortion became legal in Mexico City in April 2007. Since then, 216 755 abortions have been provided, initially in hospitals, by specialized physicians using surgical techniques. With time and experience, services were provided increasingly in health centers, by general physicians using medical therapies. Meanwhile, abortion remains legally restricted in the remaining 31/32 Mexican states. Demand and need for abortion care have increased throughout the country, while overall abortion-specific mortality rates have declined. In an effort to ensure universal access to and improved quality of reproductive and maternal health services, including abortion, Mexico recently expanded its cadres of health professionals. While initial advances are evident in pregnancy and delivery care, many obstacles and barriers impair the task-sharing/shifting process in abortion care. Efforts to expand the provider base for legal abortion and postabortion care to include midlevel professionals should be pursued by authorities in the new Mexican administration to further reduce abortion mortality and complications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]