Mexicans Women

Gabriella Navarro Busch did her 20 years as an Oxnard police dispatcher. She raised two daughters with only the help of her mother. Then, finally she allowed herself the luxury of her dreams. "I had to become a lawyer," she said. So she worked days and studied nights. Now, Gabby Busch, 41, is working her first legal case on behalf of the mother of Robert Jones, a distraught 23-year-old who was fatally shot in August by Oxnard police while holding a knife and hiding in his closet.

Advocates say the women, who insist they suffered miscarriages, got caught up in Mexico's cultural wars over abortion. The seven women were accused of killing their newborn babies and handed long prison sentences. They insisted they had suffered miscarriages and should not be punished; one claimed she wasn't even sure she was pregnant. The women have finally been freed, after years in jail and only after their cause was taken up by human rights organizations here and abroad and by a handful of determined legislators.

She came home after a full day at the shoe store and walked into a living room crowded with expectation. There on the couch sat an old family friend, a young beauty queen and two founders of a new club representing her parents' hometown in central Mexico. They smiled eagerly. Flustered, her mother had entertained the unexpected visitors for half an hour. But it was Emir Estrada they wanted.

Carlos Ochoa is not a Mexican woman. But he remembers what life used to be like for Mexican women way back before the turn of the century seven years ago. "It was the house, the kitchen, taking care of kids," said Ochoa, a government press director for Mexico's delegation at the Pan American Games. "But now," he added, "it's totally different." That's because now their choices also include gold, silver or bronze.

Advocates say the women, who insist they suffered miscarriages, got caught up in Mexico's cultural wars over abortion. The seven women were accused of killing their newborn babies and handed long prison sentences. They insisted they had suffered miscarriages and should not be punished; one claimed she wasn't even sure she was pregnant. The women have finally been freed, after years in jail and only after their cause was taken up by human rights organizations here and abroad and by a handful of determined legislators.

Carlos Ochoa is not a Mexican woman. But he remembers what life used to be like for Mexican women way back before the turn of the century seven years ago. "It was the house, the kitchen, taking care of kids," said Ochoa, a government press director for Mexico's delegation at the Pan American Games. "But now," he added, "it's totally different." That's because now their choices also include gold, silver or bronze.

Women in the United States would do well to learn from the diets of recent Mexican immigrants, according to a University of California study. Women immigrants born in Mexico eat more meats, vegetables and beans and use less nicotine, alcohol and coffee--and it shows up in better health for themselves and their babies, researchers found. Sixteen percent of non-Hispanic white women smoke heavily during pregnancy--compared with only 1% of immigrants born in Mexico. And fat intake is well below U.S.

Imagine that the chairs of the U.S. Democratic and Republican parties were held by women, and that the majority leader of the U.S. House of Representatives was a woman. Add more women to the president's Cabinet and consider that more than half of the most populous city's mayoral cabinet are women. In Mexico, this phenomenon is a growing political reality.

A federal grand jury indicted four people Thursday on charges that they smuggled undocumented Mexican women into the United States and forced them to work as prostitutes at a Los Angeles brothel. Investigators said that at least 12 females, including two girls ages 14 and 15, were forced to sell sexual services as a way of paying off the debts they owed for being smuggled into the United States.

The schoolteacher says she wanted smaller breasts and was overjoyed when a highly recommended plastic surgeon told her that instead of surgery, a few injections would slim her down. Nearly 1 1/2 years later, Veronica Gonzalez, 32, has lost her job and her friends -- and may have to spend the rest of her life using a walker. Doctors plan to remove her breasts, gluteal muscles and calves because of damage from industrial silicone allegedly injected into her body.

A federal grand jury indicted four people Thursday on charges that they smuggled undocumented Mexican women into the United States and forced them to work as prostitutes at a Los Angeles brothel. Investigators said that at least 12 females, including two girls ages 14 and 15, were forced to sell sexual services as a way of paying off the debts they owed for being smuggled into the United States.

The schoolteacher says she wanted smaller breasts and was overjoyed when a highly recommended plastic surgeon told her that instead of surgery, a few injections would slim her down. Nearly 1 1/2 years later, Veronica Gonzalez, 32, has lost her job and her friends -- and may have to spend the rest of her life using a walker. Doctors plan to remove her breasts, gluteal muscles and calves because of damage from industrial silicone allegedly injected into her body.

Gabriella Navarro Busch did her 20 years as an Oxnard police dispatcher. She raised two daughters with only the help of her mother. Then, finally she allowed herself the luxury of her dreams. "I had to become a lawyer," she said. So she worked days and studied nights. Now, Gabby Busch, 41, is working her first legal case on behalf of the mother of Robert Jones, a distraught 23-year-old who was fatally shot in August by Oxnard police while holding a knife and hiding in his closet.

Imagine that the chairs of the U.S. Democratic and Republican parties were held by women, and that the majority leader of the U.S. House of Representatives was a woman. Add more women to the president's Cabinet and consider that more than half of the most populous city's mayoral cabinet are women. In Mexico, this phenomenon is a growing political reality.

She came home after a full day at the shoe store and walked into a living room crowded with expectation. There on the couch sat an old family friend, a young beauty queen and two founders of a new club representing her parents' hometown in central Mexico. They smiled eagerly. Flustered, her mother had entertained the unexpected visitors for half an hour. But it was Emir Estrada they wanted.

Susie Mora has always dreamed of playing for her country in international soccer competitions. She just hadn't figured, until recently, that the country would be Mexico. Mora, 20, is a graduate of Santa Margarita who will begin her junior year at USC this fall. But when she takes the field Saturday in East Rutherford, N.J., she will do so as a member of the Mexican national women's soccer team.

Susie Mora has always dreamed of playing for her country in international soccer competitions. She just hadn't figured, until recently, that the country would be Mexico. Mora, 20, is a graduate of Santa Margarita who will begin her junior year at USC this fall. But when she takes the field Saturday in East Rutherford, N.J., she will do so as a member of the Mexican national women's soccer team.

I have been reading the diatribe from Scott Peotter and the Irvine Values Coalition concerning the Irvine human rights ordinance for months now. I have even had the opportunity to speak with Peotter personally in a class at UCI at which he was a guest speaker. After reading the latest article to appear in The Times ("A Matter of Values, Political Semantics," Orange County Life, May 4), I felt compelled to write. He (Peotter) states: "What two people do in their bedroom is their own business.

Women in the United States would do well to learn from the diets of recent Mexican immigrants, according to a University of California study. Women immigrants born in Mexico eat more meats, vegetables and beans and use less nicotine, alcohol and coffee--and it shows up in better health for themselves and their babies, researchers found. Sixteen percent of non-Hispanic white women smoke heavily during pregnancy--compared with only 1% of immigrants born in Mexico. And fat intake is well below U.S.