Mexico’s Supreme Court has decriminalized abortion nationwide. It is unconstitutional to impose prison sentences for the termination of pregnancies the court ruled on Wednesday. Parliament was instructed to remove penalties that had been in force since 1931 from the penal code. The criminalization of abortion violates the human rights of women and other persons of childbearing potential.
As early as 2021, the Supreme Court had declared an absolute ban on abortion to be unconstitutional. However, the penal code still provides for prison sentences of up to five years for abortions. Prison sentences are also planned for the doctors involved. In Catholic Mexico, abortion is a punishable offense in 20 of the 32 states. Abortions are only permitted there in special cases, for example after a rape or if the mother’s life is in danger.
The lawsuit for nationwide decriminalization had the Organization Gire filed in the Supreme Court. After the verdict, public hospitals across the country must now also grant the right to free abortion.
The judiciary in Mexico is thus taking a step that the USA took last year in the opposite direction: the Supreme Court there overturned the federal right to abortion. Since then, many Republican-governed states have noticeably restricted access to abortion. Early demolition is currently legal in half of the 50 states, most of which are on the east and west coasts. Since the Supreme Court’s decision, the right to abortion has been the subject of heated debate in the USA – one thing is certain: this topic will also play a central role in the 2024 election campaign.