Chiapas
After last November 19, the plenary session of the Congress of the State of Chiapas approved a constitutional reform that eliminated the phrase “the protection of life from its conception”, this Tuesday, November 26, the Congress approved the reform to article 181 of the Penal Code, which previously punished those who performed an abortion with a sentence of one to three years in prison, except in cases where the pregnant person had been a victim of rape, the mother or the product was in danger, or the product was malformed. congenital at birth.
With this reform, this provision is eliminated and pregnant people are given the freedom to decide on the practice of abortion up to the 12th week of pregnancy, without these cases being criminally prosecuted.
Edomex decriminalizes abortion
With the approval of the initiative promoted by the Commission for Gender Equality of the LXII Mexican Legislature, chaired by representative Zaira Cedillo Silva (Morena) and voted against by the PAN bench, the State of Mexico became this Monday, the 25th November in the federal entity number 18 in not criminalizing those who resort to this medical procedure.
According to the project, endorsed on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and whose ruling process was waived, abortion (after the three-month period) will be a crime, the penalty for which will range from six months to one year. year in prison. If it is carried out without the consent of the pregnant person, regardless of the stage of pregnancy, it will be five to 10 years in prison and a fine of 50 to 400 days, but if physical, psychological, obstetric violence or negligence is used in its commission In gynecobstetric care, the expected penalty will increase by half.
Regarding medical, nursing or midwifery personnel who perform the procedure after 12 weeks of gestation, in addition to the aforementioned sanctions, they will be suspended from three to six years in the exercise of their profession and can be up to 20 years in case of recidivism.
The green tide advances in Zacatecas
Having as its alternate headquarters the facilities of the Zacatecano Council of Science, Technology and Innovation of the State of Zacatecas, the Plenary Session of the LXV Legislature approved on November 20, with 21 votes in favor and six against, the opinion on the initiatives with a project of Decree that reforms, repeals and adds various articles of the Penal Code for the State of Zacatecas, regarding legal interruption of pregnancy.
In the body of the opinion, the ruling Commission considered that the legal interruption of pregnancy is part of a comprehensive policy in which the State guarantees access and quality of services focused on this issue, prevents unplanned and unwanted pregnancies, reduces social stigma and facilitates access to safe procedures for all women who need it, including girls and adolescents.
The figure of abortion was also included in the ordinance as the interruption of pregnancy after the first twelve weeks of gestation. On the other hand, it is established that the crime of forced abortion is committed when, without the consent of the woman or person with the capacity to conceive, causes her to interrupt the pregnancy at any time during the pregnancy, with or without the knowledge of the victim.
In Michoacán abortion is now law
On October 10, 2024, Michoacán became the 15th state in the country to approve abortion up to 12 weeks of gestation, accompanied by the Official Mexican Standard NOM-046-SSA-2005, which establishes provisions that support, among others care measures, the right to safe abortion with assistance from the state, in addition to providing information, legal advice, guidance and talks for girls and young people about their sexual and reproductive rights, in order to raise awareness and encourage informed decision making.
The Government of Michoacán published on October 11 in the Official Newspaper the legal reform approved by the local Congress, through which abortion is decriminalized in the entity, to come into force one day later.
Decriminalization in Puebla
On July 15, 2024, Puebla became the 14th state to decriminalize abortion, with 29 votes in favor, seven against and four abstentions of the deputies of the local Congress.
This eliminates the interruption of pregnancy up to the 12th week of gestation from the Penal Code, in a state considered conservative and where the PAN governed from 2005 to 2019, when Morena won the governorship.
The approval was achieved despite protests from groups rejecting decriminalization as well as local representatives of the Catholic Church such as the archbishop of Puebla, Víctor Sánchez Espinosa, who asked legislators to vote against it.
In Jalisco, abortion is no longer a crime
In April 2024, Jalisco joined the entities where abortion is no longer criminalized. Unlike Puebla, in Jalisco it was a decision issued by the Second Collegiate Court in Criminal Matters of the Third Circuit, which repealed the articles of the Penal Code of Jalisco that classified the voluntary interruption of pregnancy as a crime punishable by up to five years in prison. prison.
This determination was based on the ruling that the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN) issued in 2021 for Coahuila, which declared the absolute prohibition of consensual abortion as unconstitutional.
Right to decide in Aguascalientes
With four votes in favor, the Supreme Court determined on August 30, 2023 to decriminalize abortion thanks to an amparo filed by civil organizations in Aguascalientes.
“With this decision. No woman or pregnant person, nor health personnel, can be criminalized for abortion in that entity. The State has the obligation to guarantee the right to decide of women and people with the capacity to become pregnant and must provide abortion services.
“In addition, the Congress of Aguascalientes must repeal the articles declared unconstitutional before the end of the regular period of sessions in which the sentence is notified,” reported GIRE, one of the organizations that filed the amparo.
Decriminalization in Baja California Sur
On June 2, 2022, the state of Baja California Sur joined the green tide, approving the decriminalization of abortion up to 12 weeks of gestation .
With 16 votes in favor, three against and zero abstentions, the local Congress approved modifications to its Penal Code and the Health Law to guarantee pregnant people access to legal pregnancy termination services.
The project discussed in plenary was presented on May 26, 2022 as a citizen initiative by activist Mónica Jasis Silberg. In June 2021, Congress had rejected another ruling that sought the decriminalization of abortion.
Guerrero
On May 17, 2022, the Guerrero Congress approved the decriminalization of abortion with 30 votes in favor, 13 against and one abstention.
The 13 votes against were from legislators from the PRI, PAN and a legislator from the PRD, who argued that it was “a war against the defenseless” and an “authorization to kill.”
The approved opinion deals with a reform that adds and repeals various provisions of the state Penal Code to guarantee the right to legal interruption of pregnancy within the first 12 weeks of gestation.
The decision of the country’s highest court
The Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN) approved on September 7, 2022 to declare the criminalization of abortion in Coahuila unconstitutional.
This sets a precedent for the country, as it was the first time that a decision was made on women’s decision to terminate their pregnancy and not necessarily on the grounds of rape or risk to health. It is also the first time that other identities are recognized, by including the term “pregnant people.”
The Court’s ruling opened the door to discuss the penal codes of other states that criminalize abortion and forces Coahuila to modify its penal code to eliminate prison sentences for people who decide to terminate their pregnancies.
