In a win for reproductive rights internationally, Mexico has decriminalised abortion nationwide removing it from the federal penal code.
Mexico’s supreme court ruled that laws prohibiting abortion are unconstitutional and a violation of women’s rights. It’s a significant decision that follows a recent trend across Latin America that has seen a widening of abortion access.
The decriminalistion of abortion in Mexico is a huge mark of progress for the largely Catholic country, and follows years of advocacy from the Latin American abortion rights movement known as the “Green Wave” – named after the green bandanas carried by protesters.
“The legal system that penalises abortion in the Federal Criminal Code is unconstitutional since it violates the human rights of women and people with the ability to carry a fetus,” the Mexican supreme court wrote in a statement on social media.
Olga Sánchez Cordero, a Mexican senator and former Supreme Court justice, said that the decision represented an advance toward “a more just society in which the rights of all are respected”.
There are still 20 states (out of 32) that criminalise abortion in Mexico, however all federal agencies will now be obligated to provide abortion healthcare services to those who want it. It will mean millions more women and pregnant people will be able to access abortion.
Two years ago, a decision was made by the supreme court that the state of Coahuila must remove abortion from its criminal code, setting a precedent that had flow on effects across Mexico. Last week Aguascalientes, located in central Mexico, became the 12th state to decriminalise abortion. Mexico City was the first state to decriminalise abortion, 16 years ago.
After the supreme court made its decision on Wednesday, former president of the supreme court, Arturo Zaldivar, said: “The green tide continues to advance. All rights for all women and pregnant people! Until equality and dignity become customary!”
In recent years, other Latin American countries like Colombia and Argentina have decriminalised abortion and made it more accessible.