Mexico’s Supreme Court has made a historic decision to decriminalize abortion, a move welcomed by women’s rights groups throughout the country.
This ruling grants millions of Mexican women access to abortions. The Supreme Court declared federal criminal penalties for abortions unconstitutional.
This far-reaching decision aligns with a growing trend in Latin American countries of easing restrictions on abortion, often referred to as a “green wave.”
Mexico’s Supreme Court stated that “the legal system that criminalized abortion” in Mexico was unconstitutional because it “violates the human rights of women and people with the ability to gestate.”
“In cases of rape, no girl can be forced to become a mother – neither by the state nor by her parents nor her guardians,” said Arturo Zaldívar, the head of the Supreme Court. “Here, the violation of her rights is more serious, not only because of her status as a victim but also because of her age, which makes it necessary to analyze the issue from the perspective of the best interests of minors.”
The ruling marks a victory for GIRE, a reproductive rights organization based in Mexico City. They initiated the landmark case against the Mexican state as a pivotal part of their years-long advocacy campaign for reform.
“No woman or pregnant person, nor any health worker, will be able to be punished for abortion,” stated the Information Group for Chosen Reproduction (GIRE).
While the federal ban has been lifted, a patchwork of state-level restrictions on abortion still exists in approximately 20 Mexican states.
This landmark decision comes two years after a Mexican court ruled in favor of a challenge against criminalizing abortion in the northern state of Coahuila, sparking a gradual state-by-state process of decriminalization.
The decision was celebrated by many, including women’s rights activists who posted green heart images in reference to the feminist movement. However, it also angered more conservative groups in Latin America’s second-largest Catholic nation.
“Today is a day of victory and justice for Mexican women!” wrote Mexico’s National Institute for Women in a message on the social media platform X. The government organization called the decision a “big step” toward gender equality.
But Irma Barrientos, an opponent of the ruling party and director of the Civil Association for the Rights of the Conceived, said they will continue to fight against expanded abortion access.
“We’re not going to stop,” Ms. Barrientos said. “Let’s remember what happened in the United States. After 40 years, the Supreme Court reversed its abortion decision, and we’re not going to stop until Mexico guarantees the right to life from the moment of conception.”
