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MEXICO CITY, Mexico. A Collegiate Court of the Federal Judiciary unanimously resolved three injunctions requiring the Chihuahua State Health Secretariat to inform and guarantee the right to abortion for women, trans men, and non-binary people in public health services in Chihuahua, up to the 12.6th week of gestation.

One of the rulings was in response to a legal action brought by trans men and non-binary people with the capacity to gestate. These identities are not only named symbolically and explicitly, but their experiences with abortion, as well as their sexual and reproductive rights, are also specifically recognized.

This achievement was thanks to a strategy of collective injunctions that, by Marea Verde Chihuahua , Red de Aborto Seguro Chihuahua , CHEROS, Morrxs Autónomxs and Abortistas Mx , worked on since 2021.

“We believe the court’s decision is an important political move because the organizations involved firmly believe that the right to abortion is for everyone. This legal action was an effort to explicitly highlight, with tailored arguments, the abortion experiences of trans and non-binary people, and to ensure that federal courts would also analyze the issue of abortion from this perspective,” explained Ninde MolRe, a lawyer and member of Abortistas Mx, in an interview. 

The Collegiate Court recognized that by denying voluntary abortion services in public clinics and hospitals to women, trans men, and non-binary people with the capacity to gestate, the authorities of Chihuahua are violating their reproductive rights. This is unconstitutional and violates the human right to choose, recognized in Article 4 of the Mexican Constitution, as affirmed by the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN) in ruling 148/2017 .

What are the effects of the sentence?

In Mexico, court rulings do have the effect of compelling authorities to comply. In this case, it means that people capable of becoming pregnant can request abortion services at health institutions in Chihuahua, and these institutions cannot deny them.

According to Ninde MolRe, the injunctions are in the compliance phase. The judges have requested that the Chihuahua Health Department publicize and explain how it will guarantee abortion access for those who request it. This includes transgender men and non-binary individuals.

For his part, the Chihuahua Secretary of Health, Gilberto Baeza Mendoza, said the court ruling cannot be complied with. “The penal code classifies voluntary abortion as a crime (…) Congress is the body that should be working on it. But we cannot go against the penal code,” he told the news outlet NMás.

The effects of these rulings are not limited to Chihuahua alone, but set a precedent for the entire country.

“These rulings reiterate what the Supreme Court has already stated: that abortion is a right. Therefore, health authorities have an obligation to provide abortion care even where it is still criminalized. Symbolically, and thanks to the courage of non-binary trans people in pursuing these legal actions, this right now belongs to everyone, ” MolRe adds.

“Making visible the particular abortion experiences of non-binary trans people is important”

“ Making the abortion experiences of non-binary trans people visible is important because they travel along different paths where violence, revictimization, and criminalization operate differently than for a cis woman. Not talking about it and maintaining a heterocisnormative narrative around abortion limits how this right is exercised. But even the reach of information so that a non-binary trans person knows they have the right to an abortion is crucial,” emphasizes Ninde MolRe.

The goal of Abortistas Mx and the other collectives working together on strategies to promote legal protections is for the abortion experiences of trans men and non-binary people with the capacity to gestate to be recognized by the judicial system. And for judges to understand the violence and limitations faced by trans* people who have abortions. 

At the same time, Ninde MolRe explains that it's important to discuss this particular ruling. Because even within the abortion rights movement in Mexico and anti-rights groups, transphobic rhetoric and the supposed " erasure of women " persist when discussing abortion, trans men, and non-binary people .

Where can I get an escort to have an abortion?

The Abortionists Mx network is open to people in Chihuahua who wish to have an abortion and can reach out for support. You can find their directory of alliances and collectives that offer support , including from a trans-inclusive perspective, at this link.

The Mexican State's outstanding obligations to guarantee abortion

Ninde MolRe summarizes the following points:

• Provide abortion services nationwide. “Abortion services are a human right and therefore must be guaranteed and not excused by a penal code that criminalizes it.”
• Legislation is needed not only in states where abortion has not been decriminalized. “Where it has been partially legalized, cases of criminalization for abortion , which disproportionately affects vulnerable people.”
• Training and awareness-raising for health personnel about trans and non-binary men to avoid misgendering, revictimizing, or denying service.
• Lack of information about abortion in trans men and non-binary people who are in gender affirmation treatment with testosterone.
• Budget and supplies in human and material resources so that people can access abortion under the standards set by the World Health Organization.