Health

Mexico’s Supreme Court decriminalizes abortion at federal level

Mexico City, Sept 6 (EFE).- Mexico’s Supreme Court eliminated the crime of abortion from the Federal Penal Code on Wednesday by issuing an injunction in favor of the Chosen Reproduction Information Group.

The court published the decision on the social network X (formerly Twitter).

The first chamber of the Court declared unconstitutional to criminalize abortion in the Federal Penal Code on the grounds that it violates the human rights of women and people with gestational capacity.

In September 2021, the Supreme Court had declared unconstitutional the absolute prohibition of abortion in the criminal codes of the states, but since then only a few territorial entities amended their laws to comply with the Court’s decision, so abortion is still criminalized at the local level in many places.

The organization explained in a press release that with Wednsday’s ruling any federal health institution, such as the Mexican Institute of Social Security or the Institute of Security and Social Services for State Workers, must provide the service to any pregnant woman who requests it.

In addition, they pointed out that health workers who provide this type of assistance cannot be criminalized.

“Since this ruling was approved unanimously, it will become mandatory for all local and federal judges, who will have to implement what the court has said,” the statement said.

The feminist organization said it trusts the institutions to guarantee reproductive autonomy.

Likewise, Congress will have to modify the penal code based on the court’s ruling.

Until now, only 10 of the country’s 32 states allowed women to interrupt pregnancy with a limit of 12 weeks of gestation in most cases.

The first law decriminalizing abortion in Mexico was passed in 2007 in the Mexican capital.

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