Mexico’s Supreme Court has ruled that criminalizing abortion is unconstitutional. The ruling is a major victory for pro-abortion activists in the conservative Roman Catholic country.
The court ruled on a law in the northern state of Coahuila, which borders Texas, where abortion was a crime. That law must now be dropped and the judgment of the highest judicial body is also expected to have far-reaching consequences for the rest of the country. Many states in Mexico still have strict laws against abortion. Hundreds of women, mostly from poor backgrounds, are serving prison terms.
The Supreme Court president called the ruling a turning point for all women, especially the most vulnerable. Women who now undergo an abortion, according to certain rules, can now in principle no longer be punished. Only Mexico City and four of the 31 states allowed abortion in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy.
Stricter across the border
It is unclear to what extent the ruling will affect women who have already been convicted. According to some lawyers, it offers the opportunity to appeal again.
The timing of the ruling is striking given the developments across the border, in the United States and especially in Texas. There is last week the abortion law has actually been tightened, which de facto means that abortion is no longer allowed in the state.
The U.S. Supreme Court rejected a request by abortion clinics to declare the Texas law unconstitutional. President Biden called that “an unprecedented attack on women’s fundamental rights”.
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