Topline
Mexico’s Supreme Court decriminalized abortion procedures across the country Wednesday, the latest in a trend of easing restrictions on abortion across Latin America.
A police officer stands in front of the Supreme Court building in Mexico City, January 23, 2023. (AP … [+]
Key Facts
The court explained on social media that laws penalizing abortion “violate the human rights of women and people with the capacity to be pregnant.”
The decision, which was unanimous, invalidates laws banning the procedure and compels federal public health institutions to offer the procedure, according to El País.
Wednesday’s decision comes after years of incremental decisions by the court that decriminalized abortion state-by-state in Mexico.
Key Background
Fifteen years ago, Mexico City became the first Mexican jurisdiction to decriminalize abortion, according to PBS. However, in 2021, the nation’s Supreme Court got involved and decriminalized abortion in the northern Mexican state of Coahuila. Over the next two years, the Supreme Court decriminalized the procedure on a slow state-by-state basis. Most recently, two weeks ago, it decriminalized it in Aguascalientes, which brought the total number of states where the procedure was decriminalized to 12. Wednesday’s decision takes that to a federal level, decriminalizing it nationwide.
News Peg
Wednesday’s news comes amid a movement across Latin America, which has historically had some of the world’s strictest abortion limitations, towards expanded abortion rights under the law. In early 2022, Colombia’s Supreme Court ruled that abortion can no longer be a crime before the 24th week of pregnancy, according to the Council on Foreign Relations. In late 2020, Argentina’s Senate legalized abortion until the 14th week of pregnancy, according to the BBC. The Council on Foreign Relations traces what has become known as a “green wave” of abortion rights expansion to 2015’s “Ni Una Menos” (Not One Woman Less) protests in Argentina, which caught regional and international attention.
Tangent
This comes as a reverse trend is occurring north in the U.S. In June 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to an abortion, which led to abortion restrictions in 22 states.
Further Reading
Mexico’s Supreme Court decriminalizes abortion nationwide (The Associated Press)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/willskipworth/2023/09/06/mexico-supreme-court-decriminalizes-abortion-across-the-country/