Mexico’s Supreme Court ruled to decriminalize abortion at the federal level on grounds that the current penal code violates the constitution, in a sweeping decision that extended Latin American’s trend of widening abortion access.
According to a report from BBC, Mexico’s Supreme Court has decriminalized abortion across the entire country, ruling that denying termination of pregnancy constitutes a violation of women’s human rights.
Arturo Alvarez, the President of the Supreme Court, emphasized when announcing the decision, “No girl can be compelled to become a mother in cases of rape, whether by the state or her parents.”
Alvarez added, “This is not solely a violation of individual rights but also a recognition of the need to protect the rights of minors, considering their age.”
With the Supreme Court’s ruling, abortion is now legal in all 32 states of Mexico.
The decision represents a significant victory for GIRE, a women’s rights organization based in Mexico City, which filed a lawsuit against the Mexican government as part of a long-standing reform campaign.
Mexican women celebrated the decision on social media, sharing green heart emojis that symbolize the burgeoning feminist movement in Latin America.
Women celebrate: “Like a dream”
“It feels like a dream. It’s as if I am the happiest person alive right now,” wrote feminist activist Andrea Hernández.
Women’s rights activist Sara Lovera, in a statement to the French news agency AFP, said, “The court’s decision is very significant.”
However, Lovera also mentioned that many women in Mexico are unaware of their right to have an abortion because local governments have not conducted awareness campaigns on the subject.
Abortion rights in Latin America
Despite being the second-largest Catholic country in Latin America, Mexico’s current government defines itself as “secular.”
Abortion is legal in Colombia, Cuba, Uruguay, and Argentina in Latin America. In Argentina, presidential candidate Javier Milei is advocating for a ban on abortion.
In Brazil, Paraguay, and Chile, abortion is allowed only in cases of rape or when the mother’s health is at risk. El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic do not permit abortion under any circumstances.