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Protesters hold up signs supporting the right to abortion in Hermosillo, Sonora during a march on Sept. 28, 2020.

Hundreds of feminist activists took to the streets of the Sonoran capital Hermosillo on Monday to demand the right to safe, legal and free abortions. Criminalizing abortions in Sonora, they say, has made them less safe, but it hasn’t stopped them from happening.

Decked out in green bandanas and carrying signs through the streets of Hermosillo, feminist protesters chanted that they will be the ones to decide whether or not to have an abortion.

Abortions are heavily restricted in Sonora, like most of Mexico. But feminist collectives that helped organize the march said that despite those restrictions, in the last six months alone, they’ve helped more than 2,000 women and girls in the state safely access abortions at home.

“Women in Sonora and across the world have abortions independent of whether or not they are legal,” said a masked protesters reading a statement from the group Marea Verde Sonora, or Green Wave Sonora. “Not guaranteeing a legal interruption to pregnancy condemns women to secrecy, which can result in dangerous abortions when women don’t have access to safe information and adequate assistance, as well as criminalization and social stigma that fall on women that decide to exercise their sexual and reproductive rights.”

Protesters said they are pushing for laws to protect women’s sexual and reproductive rights, and access to contraception and comprehensive sex education in Sonora. But added that even without changes to current laws, feminist groups in the state will continue to help anyone who wants to end a pregnancy to do so safely.

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During a march on Sept. 28, 2020, women in the Sonoran capital Hermosillo hold up signs supporting the decriminalization of abortion.

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Protest organizers lead hundreds gathered outside the state congress building in chants supporting abortion during a march in Hermosillo, Sonora on Sept. 28, 2020.

Kendal Blust/KJZZ

Women march through the streets of Hermosillo, Sonora in support of abortion rights on Sept. 28, 2020.

Kendal Blust/KJZZ

Feminist protesters hold up signs in support of legalizing abortion during a march in Hermosillo, Sonora on Sept. 28, 2020.

Kendal Blust/KJZZ

A protester holds up a sign that says "Legal abortion so as not to die" during a protest in the Sonora capital of Hermosillo on Sept. 28, 2020.