There is consensus among demographers that, in countries where abortion is illegal, its magnitude cannot be estimated directly and can be estimated indirectly only with great difficulty. Because of the difficulty of quantifying the practice of abortion in Mexico, its occurrence is neglected in discussions of the country's demographic problems. But apart from issues of women's rights or health consequences, it is necessary that the general population, politicians, and opinion leaders assess abortion in its relationship to fertility and population growth. **Study in numerous countries with varying socioeconomic characteristics suggests that no country can achieve a population growth rate near 1% without recourse to induced abortion as a complement to effective contraceptive usage. Experience shows that no country has achieved a total fertility rate under 2.2 without abortion.**
