Mexico's Supreme Court Decriminalizes Abortion : NPR
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Updated September 7, 2021 7:12 PM ET Originally published September 7, 2021 4:15 PM ET
Vanessa Romo
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Activists supporting the decriminalization of abortion in Mexico march in Guadalajara, Mexico, on September 28, 2019. Mexico's Supreme Court has ruled that it is unconstitutional to punish abortion. Ulises Ruiz/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
Activists supporting the decriminalization of abortion in Mexico march in Guadalajara, Mexico, on September 28, 2019. Mexico's Supreme Court has ruled that it is unconstitutional to punish abortion.
Mexico's Supreme Court has ruled that it is unconstitutional to punish abortion as a crime, a landmark ruling that clears the way for the legalization of abortion across the country.
The court took up the issue on Monday when eight of 11 justices voted to revoke a law in the state of Coahuila that punished women with up to three years in prison for having an abortion — even in cases of rape. The other three justices joined in the decision Tuesday, declaring such laws unconstitutional.
"Today is a historic day for the rights of all Mexican women," said Supreme Court Chief Justice Arturo Zaldivar on Tuesday.
"It is a watershed in the history of the rights of all women, especially the most vulnerable," he added.
The ruling sets a precedent that would force judges across Mexico — home to one of the world's largest populations of Catholics — to hand down similar rulings and expands early abortion for millions of women in Mexico's 32 states.
Women in Mexico were inspired by activists in Argentina
The decision was being celebrated as a major victory for the women's rights movement across Latin America that has gained momentum in recent years, prompted by record femicide rates and a major abortion rights victory in Argentina last year.
Inspired by that hard-fought triumph, tens of thousands of women in Mexico have taken up green bandanas — a symbol of abortion-rights activists in Argentina — calling for the decriminalization of abortion beyond the four states where it is legal up to 12 weeks of pregnancy.
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"This Supreme Court decision has legal ripple effects beyond the Mexican state of Coahuila and applies across Mexico," Paula Avila-Guillen, executive director of the Women's Equality Center, said in a statement following the decision.
"As of this moment, any Mexican state that criminalizes abortion is in direct defiance of the Federal Constitution. As of this decision, all Mexican states where abortion is still criminalized are obligated to modify their legal frameworks to comply with the standard set by the Court," Avila-Guillen added.
She noted that the ruling sets a precedent for women who are currently behind bars for seeking an abortion to be freed.
The decision follows the new Texas abortion law
Avila-Guillen called Mexico's decision a bright spot in the fight to protect women's reproductive rights around the world — one that comes just days after Texas enacted what amounts to the strictest anti-abortion measure in the U.S. The Texas law bans abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy.
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"The pro-rights 'Green Wave' is poised to take over the region and bring it to the 21st Century, even as we see the United States Supreme Court and Texas walk women back into darkness," she said.
Now that women in Coahuila, which borders the state of Texas, can choose to terminate their pregnancies through the first trimester, Avila-Guillen suggests some American women may benefit from Mexico's new law.
She asks: "Could the safest way for Texan women to have access to a safe, legal abortion soon be to make their way to Mexico.
Well. Mexico takes a giant leap forward while Texas slugs backward
Sex Ed and access to birth control stops abortions.
Who would have thought Mexico was becoming more socially progressive than the US? Good on Mexico.
Good to see that Mexico has entered the 21st century on this.
The real abortion rate in Mexico is about twice what it is in the US because the demand for terminations is based on unwanted pregnancies usually because a woman already has more children than she can provide for. This is true in most "Catholic" countries.
Making abortions illegal does not stop abortions...
The fix is in preventing unwanted pregnancies which we know how to do. The problem is that the most anti abortion people also oppose what really works.
Now Noem in SD is trying to do away with the antiabortion drugs
Tell that to the anti-abortionists. They don't seem to get it.
With religion often being the problem and/or excuse.
Have often wondered just exactly what Noem's problems are. You know, MAGA and all of that?
Perhaps Mexico is simply setting up to take advantage of a new market created by the christian taliban?
I can see it, set up some clinics along the border and start raking in the US dollars from desperate Americans
If Mexico and Argentina can get this right what is wrong with the USA on this issue?
I can think of a couple things.
During the heyday of what was called Revenge of the Cradle in Quebec the Catholic Church convinced women that having 12-15 babies gave them a free pass into Heaven.
As of yet I have been unable to find a direct correlation as to why french canadian women traded the term cullotes (panties) for des step-ins or des step-outs but it was the rule of the day as soon as she gave birth and monsieur came home from a long day of staring at some beast's hindquarters ... one of God's mysterious works in action.