Mexico’s Supreme Court of Justice (SCJN) unanimously ruled on September 7 that it is unconstitutional to penalise women and pregnant persons who have abortions because it violates their right to decide.
The country’s top court took up the issue on September 6, to rule on a case, filed in 2018, challenging a criminal law in the state of Coahuila that punished pregnant women and those who helped them in terminating a pregnancy with up to three years in prison. That day, eight of the 11 justices present voted to revoke the law. The next day, three other justices joined the extended decision on the matter and declared such laws unconstitutional. The court ordered the state government of Coahuila to remove sanctions for abortion from its criminal code.
The historic ruling also cleared the way for the decriminalisation and future legalisation of abortions across the country.
The SJCN’s official communiqué said: “Since a majority that exceeds eight votes has been reached, the Court’s reasons oblige each and every judge in Mexico — both federal and local — to consider that the criminal laws of the federal entities that criminalise abortion in an absolute way are unconstitutional, as are the criminal offenses that do not contemplate the possibility of terminating pregnancy in a period close to implantation, or the rules that only provide for the possibility of abortion as absolutory excuses.”
Years of struggle
“Today is a historic day for the rights of all Mexican women. It is a watershed in the history of the rights of all women, especially the most vulnerable,” said Supreme Court Chief Justice Arturo Zaldivar while reading the verdict.
Later, in a series of tweets, Zaldivar congratulated Mexican women on achieving this integral human right after years of struggle in the streets. “For 10 years, I have been arguing that termination of pregnancy is a fundamental right. Criminalising women, especially the poorest and most vulnerable, is deeply unjust and openly unconstitutional,” tweeted Zaldivar.
“A historic day for all women, especially for the most vulnerable. The unjust criminalisation of women ends here. Never again a woman in prison for exercising her rights. A hug to all those, who with their struggle for years have made this possible,” he wrote in another tweet.
Abortion is severely restricted in Mexico. It is legal only in case of rape. Some states also allow abortion in other cases, such as serious risk to the woman’s life, foetal malformation, non-consensual artificial insemination and financial hardship. However, it is not always guaranteed.
According to official records, each year between 350,000 and 1,000,000 abortions are performed. Of these a third are performed clandestinely in unsafe conditions.
Before this verdict, only four states, namely Mexico City, Oaxaca, Hidalgo and Veracruz, had legalised elective abortions. In the remaining 28 states, it is punishable and the penalties range from the imposition of fines to imprisonment.
Now, with the resolution, women and persons who can gestate in states where abortion is criminalised will be able to undergo the procedure with a judge’s order.
National and international celebration
Immediately after the decision was announced, dozens of feminists and women’s rights activists reached the Nueva Tlaxcala public square, behind the Government Palace, in Coahuila’s capital Saltillo, to celebrate the achievement of reproductive rights. The protesters placed green scarves, a symbol of abortion rights, on the statue of Nueva Tlaxcala. They shouted slogans such as “abortion is no longer a crime,” “first Coahuila, then all of Mexico”, among others.
Marea Verde or Green Tide movement, the network of feminist collectives in Mexico, celebrated the landmark decision. “Today the SCJN said ‘I support women’ and declared unconstitutional the incarceration of women for abortion. Today we made history. Thanks to every woman who raises her voice for all of us,” tweeted the feminist group.
The Information Group on Reproductive Choice (GIRE), a reproductive rights group, also applauded the verdict. “Supreme Court’s decision is a reflection of a historic struggle of the feminist movement for legal, safe and free abortion. We hope that throughout the country women and people with the ability to carry a child will have the conditions and freedom to determine their reproductive destiny,” tweeted the group.
The National Institute of Women (Inmujeres) also welcomed the resolution and said that “this historic decision establishes solid foundations to guarantee the right of women to decide autonomously about their body and their maternity.”
The Latin American and Caribbean Women’s Health Network also hailed the decision. “This is a great precedent that allows us to continue walking toward total decriminalisation in #Mexico, but also invites other countries to move toward the same path, THAT of WOMEN’S FREEDOM. We declare that it becomes a law throughout Latin America and the Caribbean,” tweeted the network.
The Undersecretary for Human Rights, Population and Migration, Alejandro Encinas Rodríguez, also welcomed the ruling. “Historic day for the protection of human rights in Mexico. Every woman and pregnant person has the right to freely decide about their sexual and reproductive life; the State should not intervene in this decision, much less use criminal law to regulate it. This right is based on human dignity, the right to health, private life, reproductive freedom, autonomy and the free development of the personality. Every woman and pregnant person should be able to choose whether or not she wants to be a mother, how many children to have and when,” he wrote in a thread on twitter.
Encinas added that “from this Undersecretariat, we will encourage executives and legislatures to make the right to decide effective throughout the country” and stressed that “it is essential not only to decriminalise abortion, but also to guarantee free and safe access to it.”
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in Mexico also celebrated the decision, highlighting that “it ratifies the court’s commitment to women’s rights in Mexico.” The international body called for “this criterion to be applied throughout the country, and that no woman be criminalised again for terminating her pregnancy, in line with international standards.”
Decriminalisation of abortion in Mexico is a milestone victory for the women’s rights movements across Latin America and the Caribbean. This basic human right is highly regulated throughout the region. Out of the 33 countries in the region, only Cuba, Guyana, Uruguay, and Argentina allow elective abortion. In countries such as Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua, abortion is completely banned and criminalised.
In recent years and especially after the historic triumph in Argentina last year, the demand for abortion rights has gained momentum across the region. The feminist groups and women’s rights movements have become more adamant in demanding and achieving these rights. The achievement of the same in Mexico will surely give new strength to the feminist movement.
[Reprinted from People’s Dispatch.]