Mexico: Aguascalientes is the 12th state to decriminalize abortion
In a landmark decision, Mexico's Supreme Court declared the criminalization of abortion in Aguascalientes unconstitutional. This ruling came in response to an appeal filed by five civil society organizations.
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Mexico's Supreme Court ordered the Congress of the state of Aguascalientes to modify three articles of the Penal Code that punish abortion with prison sentences of three to six years, declaring them "unconstitutional." Thus, Aguascalientes became the 12th Mexican state to decriminalize abortion, joining Mexico City, Oaxaca, Hidalgo, Coahuila, Veracruz, Baja California, Colima, Sinaloa, Guerrero, Baja California Sur , and Quintana Roo.
What does the measure on abortion entail?
In addition to forcing the local Congress to repeal the three articles in question, the Supreme Court's decision establishes that the criminalization of abortion, as well as the criminalization of health personnel and support networks , is unconstitutional, and declares that the State must guarantee the provision of the service.
Following the vote on the ruling this Wednesday, Justice Juan Luis González Alcántara—author of the approved project—stated that there are currently 73 people in Aguascalientes who “have been or are being prosecuted under the articles declared unconstitutional.” “This First Chamber cannot remain indifferent to the situation in which women and pregnant people in Aguascalientes are and have been unjustly subjected. It is imperative that constitutional courts break the cycle of discrimination and take the necessary measures to redress the harm that society and the justice system itself may have caused or may have caused, ensuring that the causes of such harm are not perpetuated,” the Justice stated, in remarks reported by the newspaper La Jornada .
For the first time, it is achieved through legal protection.
The Supreme Court's decision came in response to an injunction filed in early 2022 by the Information Group on Reproductive Choice (GIRE), Morras Help Morras, Terfu, Cecadec, and Cultivando Género. The injunction is part of a national strategy spearheaded by several civil society organizations to universalize the right to legal abortion in Mexico.
The case of Aguascalientes is historic because it is the first time abortion has been decriminalized in a state through an injunction, thus setting an important precedent. Currently, rulings are pending on injunctions filed against the penal codes of Chiapas, Puebla, Guanajuato, Querétaro, Tlaxcala, Nayarit, Nuevo León, Morelos, Michoacán, Sonora, Chihuahua, San Luis Potosí, Tabasco, Yucatán, Campeche, Durango, and Jalisco, as well as the Federal Penal Code itself.
“This decision sets a binding precedent for all local and federal judges, who will have to implement what the Court said,” GIRE wrote on X (formerly Twitter) after the measure was announced.
All the appeals filed are based on the ruling issued by the Supreme Court of Justice in September 2021 , which declared the criminalization of abortion in Coahuila unconstitutional, a decision that prevents women who terminate their pregnancy, as well as the health professionals who treat them, from being sanctioned in the criminal justice system, and which has federal validity.
This article is reproduced through an agreement with La Diaria Feminismos . The illustrative photo is by José Luis de la Cruz, EFE.
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