What does Mexico’s vote to decriminalise abortion mean?

Federal public health services are now able to offer the procedure to anyone who requests it – that means access for millions of Mexicans in the country

Mexico took a step closer towards change with the voice of women being heard as the country’s Supreme Court finally put an end to its federal ban on abortion.

On Wednesday, the court ruled that the national laws prohibiting the procedure are unconstitutional and violated women’s rights.

It wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter: “The First Chamber of #LaCorte ruled that the legal system that penalizes abortion in the Federal Criminal Code is unconstitutional since it violates the human rights of women and people with the capacity to gestate.”

The ruling comes after a legal appeal was launched by the Information Group for Chosen Reproduction (GIRE), a human rights organisation focused on reproductive rights.

“Incredible!... With this decision of the @SCJN federal health institutions throughout the country will have to provide abortion services to women and people with the capacity to gestate who request it,” the group wrote X, formerly known as Twitter.

Federal public health services are now able to offer the procedure to anyone who requests it – that means access for millions of Mexicans in the country.

The move to decriminalise the country’s abortion laws first began in 2007, it then took 12 years for the state of Oaxaca to follow.

A slow progress, but many people are using this moment as a cause for celebration and looking towards a hopeful future in Mexico.

“Today is a day of victory and justice for Mexican women!” Mexico’s National Institute for Women wrote in a message on X.

The government organisation said this was a “big step” toward gender equality.

Does the ruling apply to all states in Mexico?

(AP)

On 30 August Aguascalientes became the 12^th Mexican State to remove criminal penalties for abortion.

However, some 20 Mexican states still criminalise abortion. Those laws were not affected by the Supreme Court ruling on Wednesday, but abortion rights advocates will likely ask state judges to follow through with its logic.

Abortions are not widely prosecuted as a crime in Mexico, but many doctors refuse to provide them, citing the law.

What does decriminalising abortion mean for the country?

Although the ruling is a move towards the right direction, Fernanda Díaz de León, sub-director and legal expert for women’s rights group IPAS said it does not mean that every Mexican woman can access the procedure.

However, what it does do is push federal agencies to provide the care the patients need and want.

Removing the abortion ban inevitably takes away another excuse used by care providers to deny abortion in states where it is no longer seen as a crime by law.

“It’s a very important step,” Ms Díaz de León said. But added: “We need to wait to see how this is going to be applied and how far it reaches.”

Olga Sánchez Cordero, a former Supreme Court justice, applauded the ruling, saying on X that it represented an advance toward “a more just society in which the rights of all are respected.” She called on Mexico’s Congress to pass legislation in response.

What could this mean for other countries where abortion has been banned?

The US ruling on Roe v Wade last year led to the development of a network of “Janes” who buy abortion pills over the counter in Mexico and ship them to women and girls in need in the United States.

This also prompted a rise in abortion tourism to other US states where the procedure is still legal, and to Mexico.

Given the latest ruling in Mexico – this may get more women from the American South to travel to Mexico for healthcare.

In the US, as of 23 August, there are at least 22 US states that have banned or restricted abortion, including Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

Additional reporting from the Associated Press