Mexico Decriminalizes Abortion Nationwide

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Facts

• The First Chamber of Mexico's Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that federal criminal penalties for abortion are unconstitutional, reaffirming a similar decision issued in 2021 against a law in the state of Coahuila that federally decriminalized the procedure.¹
• This comes as the advocacy collective Information Group on Reproductive Choice (GIRE) challenged the abortion section of the federal penal code, which the court agreed is in violation of human rights.²
• Abortion was previously legal across the country only in cases of rape, with states free to decide on its legality otherwise. Last week, Aguascalientes became the 12th state or federal district to decriminalize the procedure.³
• Wednesday's ruling doesn't grant immediate access to termination services nationwide, but it obliges federal agencies to provide the procedure to patients even in the 20 states where abortion is still criminalized.⁴
• This decision has been deemed a historic win for pro-choice activists in a Catholic-dominated country where over 80% of its 130M people are members of the religion.⁵
• In contrast with the US, where the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision was overturned last year, Latin America has seen a trend of loosening abortion restrictions. Besides Mexico, elective abortion is legal in Colombia, Cuba, Uruguay, and Argentina.⁶

Sources: ¹CNN, ²Reuters, ³Al Jazeera, ⁴Associated Press, ⁵Euronews and ⁶BBC News.

Narratives

• Left narrative, as provided by Guardian. Though Mexican lawmakers still have to eliminate abortion from the penal code in a process that could take years, this ruling is great news for those long fighting for reproductive autonomy as the country will no longer criminally charge people for seeking or providing abortions.
• Right narrative, as provided by National catholic reporter. This decision doesn't come as a surprise as Mexico's Supreme Court has quickly assumed cases regarding state-level abortion bans to overturn them. The only way to effectively protect the right to life from conception will be explicitly enshrining it in the country's constitution.

Predictions