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{{short description|Overview of the legality and prevalence of abortions in Mexico}}{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2024}}Since 2021, abortion has no longer been a federal crime in Mexico. However, the criminal law in Mexico varies by state. On 7 September 2021, the Mexican Supreme Court unanimously ruled that penalising abortion is unconstitutional, setting a precedent across the whole country.NEWS, Romo, Vanessa, 7 September 2021, Mexico’s Supreme Court Has Voted To Decriminalize Abortion,www.npr.org/2021/09/07/1034925270/mexico-abortion-decriminalized-supreme-court, 9 September 2021, National Public Radio, NEWS, González, Oriana, 7 September 2021, Mexico’s supreme court decriminalizes abortion,www.axios.com/mexico-decriminalize-abortion-ba636fe8-2d1a-4750-b272-725382c3eb9a.html, 9 September 2021, Axios (website), Axios, Before 2019, abortion had been severely restricted outside of Mexico City, where it was legalized on-request in 2007.NEWS, Gaestel, Allyn, Shelley, Allison, Mexican women pay high price for country’s rigid abortion laws,www.theguardian.com/global-development/2014/oct/01/mexican-women-high-price-abortion-laws, 31 July 2016, The Guardian, 1 October 2014, {{As_of|2023|08}}, abortion is available on request to any woman during the first twelve weeks of a pregnancy (i. e., 15 weeks LMP) In Mexico, pregnancy is defined from implantation.p. 19 in Mexico City and the states of Oaxaca, Hidalgo, Veracruz, Coahuila, Colima, Baja California, Sinaloa, Guerrero, Baja California Sur, Quintana Roo, Jalisco, and Aguascalientes.NEWS, McKinley Jr., James C., James C. McKinley Jr., 25 April 2007, Mexico City Legalizes Abortion Early in Term,www.nytimes.com/2007/04/25/world/americas/25mexico.html, 25 April 2007, The New York Times, WEB, 25 September 2019, Mexico’s Oaxaca state legalizes abortion in historic move,www.reuters.com/article/us-mexico-abortion/mexicos-oaxaca-state-legalizes-abortion-in-historic-move-for-catholic-nation-idUSKBN1WA30Y/, 25 March 2024, Reuters, WEB, Agren, David, 26 September 2019, “We have made history”: Mexico’s Oaxaca state decriminalises abortion,www.theguardian.com/world/2019/sep/26/we-have-made-history-mexicos-oaxaca-state-decriminalises-abortion, 30 September 2019, The Guardian, NEWS, Quiroz, Lilly, 31 August 2022, This Mexican clinic is offering discreet abortions to Americans just over the border,www.npr.org/2022/08/31/1119886629/abortion-mexico-roe-wade-ban-texas-supreme-court-border-tijuana, 31 August 2022, National Public Radio, WEB, 2022-03-09, Sinaloa Congress decriminalizes abortion,mexiconewsdaily.com/news/sinaloa-congress-decriminalizes-abortion/, 2022-03-14, Mexico News Daily, en-US, NEWS, Blust, Kendal, 2022-06-03, Baja California Sur is now the 9th Mexican state to decriminalize abortion, Fronteras Desk, KJZZ/Rio Salado College,fronterasdesk.org/content/1785120/baja-california-sur-now-9th-mexican-state-decriminalize-abortion, 2022-06-03, NEWS, 18 May 2022, Mexico’s Guerrero state becomes ninth to allow abortions,www.reuters.com/world/americas/mexicos-guerrero-state-becomes-ninth-allow-abortions-2022-05-18/, 26 May 2022, Reuters, en, NEWS, 26 October 2022, Mexico’s Quintana Roo state decriminalises abortion,www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/10/26/mexicos-quintana-roo-state-decriminalises-abortion, 26 October 2022, Al Jazeera, NEWS, Morland, Sarah, 30 August 2023, Mexican state of Aguascalientes becomes 12th to decriminalize abortion,www.reuters.com/world/americas/mexicos-aguascalientes-becomes-12th-state-decriminalize-abortion-2023-08-30/, 30 August 2023, Reuters, NEWS, 26 April 2024, Jalisco will be the 13th Mexican state to decriminalize abortion,mexiconewsdaily.com/news/jalisco-will-be-the-13th-mexican-state-to-decriminalize-abortion/, Mexico News Daily, However, even in states where abortion is legal, there continue to be women in pre-trial detention for murder due to spontaneous miscarriage.WEB, Urieta, Itzel, 1 December 2022, Aurelia García, joven indígena de Guerrero, enfrenta al Estado por un aborto involuntario,www.animalpolitico.com/genero-y-diversidad/guerrero-joven-aurelia-garcia-estado-aborto-involuntario, 26 March 2024, Animal Político,

History

{{see_also|History of abortion}}In 1931, fourteen years after the writing of the national Constitution, the Mexican Government addressed abortion by making it illegal, except in the cases when the abortion is caused by the negligence of the mother, continuation of the pregnancy endangers the life of the mother, or in pregnancies resulting from rape.WEB, Jelen, Ted G., Abortion Opinion in Emerging Democracies: Latin America and Central Europe,wpsa.research.pdx.edu/meet/2012/jelenandbradley.pdf, 15 March 2014, Jonathan Doc Bradley, 2012,wpsa.research.pdx.edu/meet/2012/jelenandbradley.pdf," title="web.archive.org/web/20140317092123wpsa.research.pdx.edu/meet/2012/jelenandbradley.pdf,">web.archive.org/web/20140317092123wpsa.research.pdx.edu/meet/2012/jelenandbradley.pdf, 17 March 2014, dead, BOOK, Hassmann, Melissa, Abortion Politics in North America, 2005, Lynne Rienner Publishing, Inc., Boulder, CO, WEB, UN Report-Mexico,www.un.org/esa/population/publications/abortion/doc/mexico.doc, United Nations, 15 March 2014, In 1974, Mexico introduced the Ley General de Población, a law requiring the government to provide free family-planning services in all public health clinics, and a National Program for Family Planning to coordinate it.BOOK, Juarez, F, Unintended Pregnancy and Induced Abortion in Mexico: Causes and Consequences, 2013, Guttmacher Institute, New York,www.guttmacher.org/pubs/Unintended-Pregnancy-Mexico.pdf, The same year, Mexico amended its constitution to recognize every Mexican citizen’s “right to freely decide, in a responsible and informed manner, on the number and spacing of their children”.WEB, Gobierno de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos, Constitución Política de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos, Capítulo I de los Derechos Humanos y sus Garantías, Artículo 4, es,info4.juridicas.unam.mx/ijure/tcfed/9.htm?s, March 15, 2014, dead,info4.juridicas.unam.mx/ijure/tcfed/9.htm?s," title="web.archive.org/web/20140317082931info4.juridicas.unam.mx/ijure/tcfed/9.htm?s,">web.archive.org/web/20140317082931info4.juridicas.unam.mx/ijure/tcfed/9.htm?s, March 17, 2014, In 1991, the state of Chiapas liberalized the law on abortion.Cad. “Mexico: State Loosens Abortion Law”. Off Our Backs, vol. 21, no. 3, 1991, pp. 11–11. JSTOR,www.jstor.org/stable/20833453 accessed 21 March 2019Until the 1990s, the Mexican government considerably expanded its family-planning services to rural areas and less-developed parts of the country, reducing inequalities in family planning and contraceptive provision. Contraceptive use doubled from 1976, but the annual rate of increase slowed down in 1992, and has come to a standstill in recent years.BOOK, Fuentes, M Urbina, Política de población y los programas de planificación familiar, en: Valdés L ed., La ley de población a treinta años de distancia: reflexiones, análisis y propuestas, 2005, UNAM, Mexico City, es, 339–353, According to data provided by the Guttmacher Institute, in 1996, Mexico had the lowest percentage of women in Latin America who underwent an abortion procedure, at 2.5%.WEB, An Overview of Clandestine Abortion in Latin America,www.guttmacher.org/pubs/ib12.html, Guttmacher Institute, 12 March 2014, December 1996,www.guttmacher.org/pubs/ib12.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20140317075817www.guttmacher.org/pubs/ib12.html,">web.archive.org/web/20140317075817www.guttmacher.org/pubs/ib12.html, 2014-03-17, dead, In 2009, Mexico’s national abortion rate was at about 38 abortions per 1,000 for women between the ages of 15 and 44, at 3.8%. The rates are important to consider because of Mexico’s stringent anti-abortion laws, and, so, might not be the most accurate representation of the actual data.WEB, Fact Sheet: Unintended Pregnancy and Induced Abortion In Mexico, Guttmacher Institute, 15 March 2014,www.guttmacher.org/pubs/FB-pregnancy-abortion-Mexico.html, In the early 2000s, a prominent pro-choice movement known as Marea Verde gained traction in Mexico, and across Latin America. Its influence inspired women to speak up, and demand change. WEB, gazetteterrymurphy, 2022-10-26, Lesson from Latin America for U.S. abortion rights movement,news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2022/10/lesson-from-latin-america-for-u-s-abortion-rights-movement/, 2023-11-13, Harvard Gazette, en-US, Between 7 and 9 September 2021, in a unanimous 10-to-0 ruling, the Supreme Court of Justice decriminalised abortion in Coahuila and Sinaloa.NEWS, 8 September 2021, Despenalización del aborto en Coahuila: Esto es lo que debes saber sobre la resolución de la Corte., Spanish, El Financiero,www.elfinanciero.com.mx/nacional/2021/09/08/despenalizacion-del-aborto-en-coahuila-esto-es-lo-que-debes-saber-sobre-la-resolucion-de-la-corte/, 11 September 2021, NEWS, 9 September 2021, Sinaloa y Coahuila: ¿Qué sigue tras los fallos de la Corte sobre el aborto?, Spanish, Expansión,politica.expansion.mx/mexico/2021/09/09/sinaloa-y-coahuila-que-sigue-tras-los-fallos-de-la-corte-sobre-el-aborto, 11 September 2021, NEWS, 7 September 2021, Mexico’s supreme court rules criminal penalties for abortion unconstitutional., The Guardian,www.theguardian.com/world/2021/sep/07/mexico-abortion-law-struck-down-supreme-court-penalties-unconstitutional, 11 September 2021, Nevertheless, the effects of these rulings are broader, as it sets a federal binding precedent: Judges cannot sentence people to jail for either having or assisting in induced abortions, even if local legislations have not changed their criminal laws.NEWS, 8 September 2021, Mexico’s top court decriminalizes abortion in “watershed moment”, Reuters,www.reuters.com/world/americas/mexico-supreme-court-rules-criminalizing-abortion-is-unconstitutional-2021-09-07/, 11 September 2021, The Supreme Court also established that local rules granting protections of “life from conception” were invalid,NEWS, 9 September 2021, Mexico’s Supreme Court rules right to life from conception is unconstitutional, Reuters,www.reuters.com/world/us/mexicos-supreme-court-rules-right-life-conception-is-unconstitutional-2021-09-09/, 11 September 2021, and that access to legal abortions is a fundamental right of women. This historic landmark paves the path for advocates to challenge abortion restrictions in each state.NEWS, 9 September 2021, “Feeling free”: women criminalized by Mexico’s abortion bans celebrate ruling, Reuters,www.reuters.com/world/americas/feeling-free-women-criminalized-by-mexicos-abortion-bans-celebrate-ruling-2021-09-09/, 11 September 2021,

Legality

{{see_also|Abortion law}}On 24 April 2007, the Legislative Assembly of the Federal District (LAFD) reformed Articles 145 to 148 of the Criminal Code, and Article 14 of the Health Code, all dealing with abortion; 46 of the 66 members (from five distinct parties) of the LAFD approved the new legislation.JOURNAL, Sanchez Fuentes, Maria Luisa, Jennifer Paine, Brook Elliott-Buettner, 146457306, The Decriminalisation of Abortion in Mexico City: How Did Abortion Rights Become a Political Priority?, Gender and Development, July 2008, 16, 2, 345–360, 20461278, 10.1080/13552070802120533, The changes expanded the previous law, which had allowed legal abortions in four limited circumstances.JOURNAL, Johnson, Thea B., GUARANTEED ACCESS TO SAFE AND LEGAL ABORTIONS: THE TRUE REVOLUTION OF MEXICO CITY’S LEGAL REFORMS REGARDING ABORTION, Columbia Human Rights Law Review, 2013, 44, 2, 437,www.corteidh.or.cr/tablas/r30937.pdf, 16 March 2014, In Mexico, abortion proceedings fall under local state legislation. A landmark Supreme Court decision in 2008 found no legal impediment to it in the Mexican Constitution, and stated that “to affirm that there is an absolute constitutional protection of life in gestation would lead to the violation of the fundamental rights of women”.NEWS,www.csmonitor.com/2008/0829/p25s22-woam.html, Mexico’s Supreme Court upholds abortion law, Miller Llana, Sara, 2008-08-28, Christian Science Monitor, 2009-10-17, Mexico City, All states’ penal codes permit abortions in cases of rape, and all but Guanajuato and Querétaro’s permit it to save the mother’s life. Fourteen out of thirty-one expand these cases to include severe fetal deformities, and the state of Yucatán includes economic factors when the mother has previously given birth to three, or more, children.WEB,www.gire.org.mx/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=409&Itemid=1154&lang=en, State Legislation, 2012, Grupo de Información en Reproducción Elegida, A.C, 2012-07-24, dead,web.archive.org/web/20140227155216/https://www.gire.org.mx/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=409&Itemid=1154&lang=en, 2014-02-27, Nevertheless, according to Jo Tuckman of The Guardian, in practice, almost no state provided access to abortions in the cases listed,NEWS,www.theguardian.com/world/2008/aug/29/mexico.humanrights, Judges uphold abortion rights in Mexico City, Tuckman, Jo, 2008-08-29, The Guardian, 2009-10-17, and since the Supreme Court decision, abortion providers are not prosecuted for carrying out abortions.There are, however, some exceptions. Since 2007, Mexico City, where approximately 7.87% of the national population lives,WEB,www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=total+population+of+Mexico+City+%2F+total+population+of+Mexico, Population of Mexico City as a percentage of the national population of Mexico, 2007, Wolfram Alpha, 2009-10-17, offers abortion on request to any woman up to 12 weeks into a pregnancy,NEWS,articles.latimes.com/2008/aug/29/world/fg-mexabortion29, Mexican Supreme Court upholds legalized abortion law, Ellingwood, Ken, 2008-08-29, Los Angeles Times, 2009-10-18, Mexico City, which, along with Cuba, Uruguay, and Argentina, is one of the most liberal legislations on this matter in Latin America. In contrast, recent political lobbying on behalf of the dominant Roman Catholic Church and anti-abortion organizations has resulted in the amendment of more than half of the state constitutions, which now define a fertilized human egg as a “person”, with a “right to legal protection”.NEWS,www.elfinanciero.com.mx/ElFinanciero/Portal/cfpages/contentmgr.cfm?docId=221256&docTipo=1&orderby=docid&sortby=ASC, Temen se extienda prohibición al aborto en el país, 2009-10-13, El Financiero en línea, es, 2009-10-19, Mexico City,www.elfinanciero.com.mx/ElFinanciero/Portal/cfpages/contentmgr.cfm?docId=221256&docTipo=1&orderby=docid&sortby=ASC," title="web.archive.org/web/20181002065234www.elfinanciero.com.mx/ElFinanciero/Portal/cfpages/contentmgr.cfm?docId=221256&docTipo=1&orderby=docid&sortby=ASC,">web.archive.org/web/20181002065234www.elfinanciero.com.mx/ElFinanciero/Portal/cfpages/contentmgr.cfm?docId=221256&docTipo=1&orderby=docid&sortby=ASC, 2018-10-02, dead, {{As of|2009|10|15}}, none of those states removed its exceptions to abortion to reflect the changes in its constitution, but according to Human Rights Watch and a local NGO, over the past eight years, the conservative-leaning state of Guanajuato “has denied every petition by a pregnant rape victim for abortion services”, and about 130 of its residents have been sentenced for seeking or providing illegal abortion.WEB,www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/49b4d2241a.html, Mexico: Stop Blocking Abortions for Rape Victims, 2009-03-05, Human Rights Watch, 2009-10-19, New York, However, these days, the government is aware of the existence of the institution called “Las Libres de Guanajuato” which provides abortions and support for women in need, and ignores its existence.NEWS, The Politics of Abortion in Mexico: A study based on the examples of the states of Distrito Federal and Guanajuato, Lysakowska, Anna, 2014, en, 978-3659527661, Anna Lysakowska, Following the decriminalization of abortions in the Distrito Federal, also known as Mexico City, the states of Baja California and San Luis Potosí enacted laws, in 2008, bestowing “personhood” rights from the moment of conception.WEB, La legalidad del aborto en México a discusión en la Suprema Corte,mexico.cnn.com/nacional/2011/09/26/la-legalidad-del-aborto-en-mexico-a-discusion-en-la-suprema-corte, CNN, 16 March 2014, 2011, In September 2011, the Supreme Court rejected two actions to overturn the laws enacted by the states of Baja California and San Luis Potosí for unconstitutionality. The Court recognized “the power of the state legislature” to enact laws on the subject. However, their decision does not criminalize or decriminalize abortion in Mexico.The September 2021 Supreme Court’s ruling states that embryos cannot have the same rights and protections to any born person. Fetuses have protections that increment with time, but will never be ahead to the reproductive freedom of the pregnant woman. It also declared that clandestine abortions put the lives of women at risk, creates inequality, and produce unnecessary fears over health professionals (doctors and nurses).NEWS, 9 September 2021, SCJN declara inconstitucional una ley que reconoce a “la vida humana desde la concepción”, Spanish, El Economista,www.eleconomista.com.mx/politica/SCJN-declara-inconstitucional-una-ley-que-reconoce-a-la-vida-humana-desde-la-concepcion-20210909-0093.html, 11 September 2021, Thus, the illegality of abortion contravenes article 4 of the Mexican Constitution which allows reproductive rights and access to health services to any Mexican citizen.This decriminalisation is the first step towards legalisation. Just like same-sex marriage, each of the 28 local legislations that do not allow safe and free abortions on request will now be forced to change their laws. Each state will establish the frame of time (weeks or months of the pregnancy) to have access to an elective abortion. Many NGOs like GIRE have declared they will push for the twelve-week frame, just like in Mexico City, Oaxaca, Hidalgo, and Veracruz.NEWS, 8 September 2021, Estándar del aborto voluntario es a las 12 semanas de gestación: GIRE., Spanish, Aristegui Noticias,aristeguinoticias.com/0809/mexico/estandar-del-aborto-voluntario-es-a-las-12-semanas-de-gestacion-gire-enterate/, 11 September 2021, If local legislations do not change anything, the Supreme Court could intervene declaring unconstitutionality (like in Coahuila and Sinaloa in September 2021), pushing even more for legalisation. Also, amparos would be automatically granted to any citizen that wants to exercise their right to abortion on those states that have not changed the law.NEWS, 7 September 2021, Despenalización del aborto abre puerta al amparo en Guanajuato., Spanish, Milenio,www.milenio.com/politica/comunidad/despenalizacion-aborto-abre-puerta-amparo-guanajuato, 11 September 2021, After this last ruling, public institutions like the Instituto de la Defensoría Pública Federal declared they will help all those women, on any state, under prosecution or in jail, accused of any criminal charge related to induced abortion.NEWS, 8 September 2021, Tras despenalización del aborto, buscarán liberar a mujeres sentenciadas por este delito: Zaldívar., Spanish, El Universal,www.eluniversal.com.mx/nacion/tras-despenalizacion-del-aborto-buscaran-liberar-mujeres-sentenciadas-por-este-delito, 11 September 2021, In Mexico, Supreme Court rulings are not retroactive, except when human rights are involved. Local attorneys on those states that have not changed their laws could still prosecute people that have undergone abortions, specially those more conservative, but judges will not whatsoever declare them guilty. Some hard-line conservative judges may still try to incarcerate someone, but that case would escalate to higher judicial institutions that will automatically invalidate the sentence, and the judge would be heavily punished for human rights violations. In other words, it’s socially and legally unethical for a judge to incarcerate a woman that underwent an abortion in Mexico.NEWS, 8 September 2021, México despenaliza el aborto: ¿qué pasará ahora en los Estados del país?, Spanish, El País,elpais.com/mexico/2021-09-08/despenalizado-pero-no-legislado-la-aprobacion-del-aborto-en-mexico-depende-de-cada-estado-del-pais.html, 11 September 2021,

State law and court decisions

(File:Gestational limits for elective abortion in Mexico.svg|thumbnail|left|Legality of abortion in Mexico by state:{{legend|#cc00ff|Legal under state law during first trimesterThe wording of the law is that it is legal in the first 12 weeks or before the 13th week; this is equivalent to 15 weeks gestational age in the US}}{{legend|#d4df5a|Legal for economic reasonsThis includes if the mother already has 3 children.}}{{legend|#e0e0e0|Illegal under state law, but not enforcedAll state laws grant exceptions for rape and life of the mother; many also for maternal health and fetal defects, but a police report not required for the rape exemption, and in any case, abortion-providers are not prosecuted since the Supreme Court ruling}})The National Supreme Court of Justice ruled on 7 August 2019 that rape victims have the right to receive abortions in public hospitals. Girls younger than 12 need parental permission.WEB, CNN Espanol, August 7, 2019, August 9, 2019, México: La Corte Suprema de Justicia avala aborto por violación,cnnespanol.cnn.com/video/mexico-interrumpir-embarazo-hospitales-publicos-oraa-cafe-cnnee/, es, Mexico: Supreme Court approves abortion in cases of rape, On 25 September 2019, Oaxaca became the second state, after Mexico City, to decriminalise abortion up to 12 weeks of pregnancy. The vote in the state legislature was 24 in favor, and 12 against. It is estimated that before decriminalisation, 9,000 illegal abortions were performed in Oaxaca every year, 17% of them on women of 20 or younger. Abortion was the third cause of maternal mortality, and there were 20 women in prison for illegal abortions.{{citation|website=Milenio|date=Sep 25, 2019|access-date=Oct 5, 2019|title=Congreso de Oaxaca aprueba despenalizar el aborto|language=es|trans-title=Congress of Oaxaca decriminalizes abortion|url=https://www.milenio.com/estados/en-oaxaca-congreso-aprueba-despenalizar-el-aborto}}In October 2019, Las Comisiones Unidas de Procuración y Administración de Justicia y de Igualdad de Género (The United Commissions for the Procuration and Administration of Justice and Gender Equality) in Puebla voted against decriminalization of abortion and legalization of same-sex marriage. The penalty for abortion was reduced from five years to one year. A majority of the legislators were elected by the Together We Will Make History coalition; and Marcelo García Almaguer of the National Action Party called out members of National Regeneration Movement for doublespeak, since they call themselves “progressives”, yet voted to support the criminalization of women.{{citation |website=Proceso|title=Legisladores poblanos cierran paso a la despenalización del aborto y al matrimonio igualitario|date=Oct 5, 2019 |author=Gabriela Hernandez|language=es|trans-title=Puebla legislators close path to decriminalization of abortion and legalization of equal marriage|url=https://www.proceso.com.mx/602140/legisladores-poblanos-cierran-paso-a-la-despenalizacion-del-aborto-y-al-matrimonio-igualitario}}In September 2021, the Supreme Court of Justice ordered the state of Coahuila (articles 196, 198, and 199) and the state of Sinaloa (article 4 Bis A) to remove sanctions and restrictions for abortion from its criminal code and local Constitution, respectively. This decision stems from 2017, when former Attorney General, Raúl Cervantes, challenged the constitutionality of both laws.NEWS, 7 September 2021, Mexico’s Supreme Court rules that abortion is not a crime., Associated Press,apnews.com/article/health-mexico-courts-mexico-city-6de599fc7b9352608a9da86f2ccda0f6, 11 September 2021, That same day, the Government of the state of Coahuila ordered the immediate liberation of all women imprisoned on pre-trial detention. Those women with a previous sentence will be released with the aid of an amparo.NEWS, 8 September 2021, El Gobierno de Coahuila ordena liberar a las mujeres encarceladas por abortar, Spanish, El País,elpais.com/mexico/2021-09-08/el-gobierno-de-coahuila-ordena-liberar-a-las-mujeres-encarceladas-por-abortar.html, 11 September 2021, “>

Timeline{|class“wikitable sortable”

|+ Legalisation of abortion on request in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy! Federal entity !! Date of enactment/ruling !! Date effective !! Legalization method !! Details

{{flagicon|Aguascalientes}} Aguascalientes}}	format=dmy	08|30}}	format=dmy	08|30}}|Judicial decision	Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation>Supreme Court

{{flagicon|Baja California}} Baja California}}	format=dmy	10|29}}	format=dmy	11|13}}|Legislative statute |Passed by the Congress of Baja California

{{flagicon|Baja California Sur}} Baja California Sur}}	format=dmy	6|2}}	format=dmy	6|15}}|Legislative statute|Passed by the Congress of Baja California Sur

Colima}} Colima	format=dmy	12|1}}	format=dmy	12|11}}|Constitutional amendment and legislative statute|Passed by the Congress of Colima

{{flagicon|Coahuila}} Coahuila}}	format=dmy	9|7}}	format=dmy	9|7}}|Judicial decision	Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation>Supreme Court

{{flagicon|Guerrero}} Guerrero}}	format=dmy	5|17}}	format=dmy	5|21}}|Legislative statute|Passed by the Congress of Guerrero

Hidalgo}} Hidalgo	format=dmy	6|30}}	format=dmy	7|7}} |Legislative statute|Passed by the Congress of Hidalgo

{{flagicon|Mexico City}} Mexico City}}	format=dmy	4|24}}	format=dmy	4|27}}|Legislative statute|Passed by the Legislative Assembly of Mexico City

{{flagicon|Oaxaca}} Oaxaca}}	format=dmy	9|25}}	format=dmy	10|25}}|Legislative statute and constitutional amendment|Passed by the Congress of Oaxaca

{{flagicon|Quintana Roo}} Quintana Roo}}	format=dmy	10|26}}	format=dmy	10|29}}|Legislative statute|Passed by the Congress of Quintana Roo

Sinaloa}} Sinaloa	format=dmy	3|9}}	format=dmy	4|9}} |Constitutional amendment and legislative statute|Passed by the Congress of Sinaloa

{{flagicon|Veracruz}} Veracruz}}	format=dmy	7|20}}	format=dmy	7|21}}|Legislative statute|Passed by the Congress of Veracruz

Influence from CEDAW

The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) was created with the idea of eliminating discrimination against women, in both the private and public sectors.WEB, Text of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women,www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/cedaw/cedaw.htm, 2021-10-13, www.un.org, While, within the treaty itself, there is no mention or use of the word “abortion”, CEDAW has made clear that abortion restrictions are to be viewed as a form of discrimination against women.WEB, Information Series On Sexual And Reproductive Health And Right- Abortion,www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/Women/WRGS/SexualHealth/INFO_Abortion_WEB.pdf, live, October 13, 2021, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights,www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/Women/WRGS/SexualHealth/INFO_Abortion_WEB.pdf," title="web.archive.org/web/20150911035412www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/Women/WRGS/SexualHealth/INFO_Abortion_WEB.pdf,">web.archive.org/web/20150911035412www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/Women/WRGS/SexualHealth/INFO_Abortion_WEB.pdf, 2015-09-11, CEDAW, therefore, encourages the international community to reduce restrictions, or outright legalize abortions.WEB, IWHC, 2018-11-30, United Nations Human Rights Committee Defends Women and Girls’ Right to Life,iwhc.org/2018/11/united-nations-righttolife/, 2021-10-13, International Women’s Health Coalition, en-US, Mexico is a party to CEDAW, meaning not only has Mexico signed CEDAW but has also ratified it (or in other words incorporated the treaty into the nation’s domestic laws).WEB, Fact Sheet,treaties.un.org/doc/source/events/2011/press_kit/fact_sheet_1_english.pdf, live, October 13, 2021, United Nations,treaties.un.org/doc/source/events/2011/Press_kit/fact_sheet_1_english.pdf," title="web.archive.org/web/20120314154402treaties.un.org/doc/source/events/2011/Press_kit/fact_sheet_1_english.pdf,">web.archive.org/web/20120314154402treaties.un.org/doc/source/events/2011/Press_kit/fact_sheet_1_english.pdf, 2012-03-14, As a party to CEDAW, this allows the CEDAW committee to monitor and review Mexico’s policies and practices which affect the rights of women.WEB, Mexico-Factsheet,ijrcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Mexico-Factsheet.pdf, live, October 13, 2021, International Justice Research Center,web.archive.org/web/20191119233346/https://ijrcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Mexico-Factsheet.pdf, 2019-11-19, The CEDAW Committee’s recommendations to the Mexican State in 2006 specifically mention these issues. As of September 2021, Mexico City, Oaxaca, Veracruz and Hidalgo allow abortions with few restrictions, and with Mexico’s Supreme Court recent ruling Coahuila, another Mexican state, must move towards decriminalizing abortion.WEB, 2021-09-07, Mexico’s Supreme Court rules that abortion is not a crime,apnews.com/article/health-mexico-courts-mexico-city-6de599fc7b9352608a9da86f2ccda0f6, 2021-11-04, AP NEWS, en,

Effects of legislation

With the new legislation, the law redefines the term abortion. An abortion is the legal termination of a pregnancy of 13 weeks of gestation or more. During the first 12 weeks of gestation, the procedure is labeled the “legal termination of pregnancy’. In addition, the term pregnancy was officially defined as beginning when the embryo is implanted in the endometrium. This helps to determine gestational age, and, according to the research team of Maria Sanchez Fuentes, “implicitly legitimizes any post-coital contraceptive method, including emergency contraception ... and assisted reproduction (including infertility treatments such as IVF) and stem-cell research”. Women charged with having an illegal abortion have their sentences reduced, and the penalty for forcing a woman to have an abortion against her own will, which includes her partner or a physician, is increased. If physical violence is involved, the penalty is even higher. Furthermore, the law explicitly states that sexual and reproductive health are a priority in health services, with the goal of preventing unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections (STIs).According to an unofficial report by the organization Grupo de Información en Reproducción Elegida (GIRE), between 2009 and 2011, 679 women have charged with the crime of abortion in the interior of the country.NEWS, Montalvo, Tania, Una de cada 3 mujeres que interrumpe su embarazo en el DF es ama de casa,mexico.cnn.com/nacional/2013/04/24/una-de-cada-3-mujeres-que-interrumpe-su-embarazo-en-el-df-es-ama-de-casa, 16 March 2014, CNN: Mexico, 24 April 2013, In the report, GIRE states that having legislation for each entity makes “access to abortion a matter of social injustice and gender discrimination.” According to the (Omission and Indifference: Reproductive Rights in Mexico) presented by GIRE, only women with economic resources and information can travel to Mexico City to have an abortion “without the risk of being persecuted for committing a crime or do it in precarious conditions.“WEB, Grupo de Informacion en Reproduccion Elegida, Aborto: Capitulo Uno,informe.gire.org.mx/caps/cap1.pdf, GIRE, 15 March 2014, dead,informe.gire.org.mx/caps/cap1.pdf," title="web.archive.org/web/20140317092501informe.gire.org.mx/caps/cap1.pdf,">web.archive.org/web/20140317092501informe.gire.org.mx/caps/cap1.pdf, 17 March 2014, Although there are no official figures on clandestine abortions in the country, GIRE estimated that in 2009 159,000 women rushed to a hospital for complications of unsafe and illegal abortions.

Impact on health and the economy

Research done by Maria Sanchez Fuentes et al. concludes that the health and economic costs of unsafe abortion are very high, in common with other preventable illnesses. Moreover, those costs are higher for poor women, because only women with economic means and sufficient information can access abortion under safe medical conditions in Mexico, or travel to foreign countries where abortion is legal throughout. After the amendments to the abortion law in 2007, abortion services are now free of charge in public hospitals for Mexico City residents, who account for approximately one-quarter of the country’s population, and are available for a moderate fee for women from other states or countries.Before the passage of the amendments to the abortion law, many Mexican women would buy herbs from the market and try dangerous home versions of abortion in order to end their unwanted pregnancies.JOURNAL, Ford, Allison, MEXICO CITY LEGALIZES ABORTION, Law and Business Review of the Americas, 2010, 16, 1, 119–127,studentorgs.law.smu.edu/getattachment/International-Law-Review-Association/Resources/LBRA-Archive/16-1/Article7.pdf.aspx, 30 March 2014, Women also resorted to buying prescription drugs, obtained from pharmacists without a doctor’s signature, that would induce an abortion. Moreover, some women even ingested huge doses of drugs for arthritis and gastritis, available over the counter, which can cause miscarriages. All of these methods are significantly dangerous, and most are illegal.The fifth leading cause of maternal mortality in Mexico is illegal, unsafe abortion.JOURNAL, Wilson, Kate S., Sandra G. Garcia, Cudia Diaz Olvarrieta, Aremic Villalobos-Hernandez, Jorge Valencia Rodriguez, Patricio Sanhueza Smith, Courtney Burks, Public Opinion on Abortion in Mexico City after the Landmark Reform, Studies in Family Planning, September 2011, 42, 3, 175–182, 41310727, 10.1111/j.1728-4465.2011.00279.x, 21972670, A huge proportion of poor and young women are forced to risk their health and lives in the conditions under which many clandestine abortions are practiced. This highlights the costs of unsafe abortion to the public health system. In addition, women who undergo unsafe abortions and suffer complications or death represent the fourth highest cause of hospital admissions in Mexico’s public hospitals. The Department of Health statistics show that in Mexico City, maternal mortality has been reduced significantly since the passage of the new law.During 2008, the public health sector, under Mexico City’s Department of Health, carried out 13,057 legal abortions, compared to 66 abortions between 2002 and 2007, when the legal indications were restricted to the four circumstances of rape, danger to the woman’s life and health and congenital malformations.JOURNAL, Schiavon, Rafael, Maria E. Collado, Erika Troncoso, Jose E. Soto Sanchez, Gabriela Otero Zorrilla, Tia Palermo, 15771389, Characteristics of private abortion services in Mexico City after legalization, Reproductive Health Matters, November 2010, 18, 36, 127–135, 25767368, 10.1016/S0968-8080(10)36530-X, 21111357, free, At the end of April 2007, the city’s Department of Health started providing first trimester abortions free of charge to the estimated 43 percent of women residing in Mexico City with no public health insurance.

Demographics and public opinion

{{See also|Societal attitudes towards abortion}}A 2008 study funded by the National Population Council (CONAPO), El Colegio de México and the Guttmacher Institute estimated 880,000 abortions carried out annually, with an average of 33 abortions a year for every 1,000 women between the ages of 15 and 44.NEWS,ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=46946, Avalanche of Anti-Abortion Laws, Cevallos, Diego, 2009-05-22, Inter Press Service, 2009-10-18, dead,www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=46946," title="web.archive.org/web/20090726150317www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=46946,">web.archive.org/web/20090726150317www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=46946, 2009-07-26, However, such studies are speculative—as abortion is highly restricted and reliable data is not readily available—with some estimates ranging as low as 297,000 abortions per year.NEWS,www.guttmacher.org/pubs/journals/25s3099.html, The Incidence of abortion Worldwide, Henshaw, Stanley, 1999-01-01, International Family Planning Perspectives, 2010-04-15,www.guttmacher.org/pubs/journals/25s3099.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20100511193214www.guttmacher.org/pubs/journals/25s3099.html,">web.archive.org/web/20100511193214www.guttmacher.org/pubs/journals/25s3099.html, 11 May 2010, live, By 19 January 2011, 52,484 abortions have been carried out in Mexico City since its decriminalization in 2007,NEWS, Gómez, Natalia, Realizan abortos legales sin regulación,www.eluniversal.com.mx/notas/742814.html, 6 February 2011, El Universal, 6 February 2011, Mexico City, es, 31 August 2014,www.eluniversal.com.mx/notas/742814.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20140831085324www.eluniversal.com.mx/notas/742814.html,">web.archive.org/web/20140831085324www.eluniversal.com.mx/notas/742814.html, dead, where some 85 percent of the gynecologists in the city’s public hospitals have declared themselves conscientious objectors.NEWS, Malkin, Elisabeth, Mexico City Struggles With Law on Abortion,www.nytimes.com/2008/08/25/world/americas/25mexico.html?_r=1, 6 February 2011, The New York Times, 24 August 2008, Cattan, Nacha, A5, Among the petitioners, 78% were local residents, 21% were living out-of-state and 1% were foreigners from countries such as Germany, Argentina and Canada. As for their age, 0.6% were between 11 and 14, 47.6% were between 18 and 24, 22% between 25 and 29, 13% between 30 and 34 and 2.7% between 40 and 44 years old. More than half were single.As of April 2012, roughly 78,544 women had undergone free legal terminations of pregnancy (LTP) without major complications—an average of 15,709 per year since the law passed in 2007.WEB, Grupo de Información en Reproducción Elegida, Cifras del aborto en México,www.gire.org.mx/, 15 March 2014, dead,www.gire.org.mx/," title="web.archive.org/web/20140317082005www.gire.org.mx/,">web.archive.org/web/20140317082005www.gire.org.mx/, 17 March 2014, JOURNAL, Amuchástegui, Ana, Body and embodiment in the experience of abortion for Mexican women: the sexual body, the fertile body, and the body of abortion., Gender, Sexuality & Feminism, 2013, 1, 1, 10.3998/gsf.12220332.0001.101, free, According to the United Nations, more than 500,000 Mexican women seek illegal abortions every year, with more than 2,000 dying from botched or unsafe procedures.NEWS, Catholics to appeal Mexico City’s abortion law,www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/1549761/Catholics-to-appeal-Mexico-Citys-abortion-law.html, 16 March 2014, 26 April 2007, Malcolm Moore, Jerry McDermott,

Political community

In the presidential election of 2006, a conservative candidate from the PAN won the election by an “infinitesimal percentage, and the progressive PRD candidate claimed fraud.” An article by Sanchez Fuentes et al., suggested that this caused polarization between the two parties and within Mexican society in general. Since the PRD lost the presidential election, but maintained control of the local legislature and Mayor’s Office in Mexico City, they demonstrated the differences between the left- and right-wing parties in the reproductive-rights context by supporting the change in the law.In 2007, the legal proposal to decriminalize abortion, led by the PRI, was introduced in the Mexico City Legislative Assembly (LAFD). In this Mexico City abortion reform, “the policy community (including the center-left political parties; the Mexico City government, represented by the Mayor’s Office; the local Ministry of Health; and the local Human Rights Ombudsman), along with academics, opinion leaders, and leading scientists, was very much united, and vocal in support of decriminalization”. Mexico City’s then-mayor Marcelo Ebrard, from the PRD, declared, “This is a women’s cause, but it is also the city’s cause.” Manifestations of support for the bill came in the form of public announcements by public figures, printed in national newspapers, which are a key means of influencing public opinion and debate in Mexico, as well as via press declarations, and interviews, as suggested by. A public announcement published on 17 April 2007 by the Academy of Bioethics outlined why the decriminalization of up to 12 weeks was not contradictory to scientific evidence, and affirmed that “an embryo at this stage has not developed a cerebral cortex or nerve endings, does not feel pain, and is not a human being or person”. Sanchez Fuentes et al. concluded that this bioethics perspective influenced the discourse surrounding the debate.On 31 December 2020, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador ({{MRN party}}) proposed that the government sponsor a consultation among the nation’s women regarding the legalization of abortion.NEWS, Women should decide whether to legalize abortion, Mexican president says,www.reuters.com/article/us-mexico-abortion/women-should-decide-whether-to-legalize-abortion-mexican-president-says-idUSKBN2951GI, January 1, 2021, Reuters, 31 December 2020, en, After Mexico’s Supreme Court ruling, President López Obrador remained noncommittal on the subject and stated “If it’s already at the Supreme Court, then let it be resolved there.“NEWS, Kitroeff, Natalie, Lopez, Oscar, 2021-09-07, Mexico’s Supreme Court Votes to Decriminalize Abortion, en-US, The New York Times,www.nytimes.com/2021/09/07/world/americas/mexico-supreme-court-decriminalize-abortion.html, 2021-09-22, 0362-4331,

Anti-abortion movement by the Catholic Church

Knowing the potential involvement of the Catholic church on this reform, the Mexico City Legislative Assembly (LAFD) framed abortion as a necessary protection for women, particularly poor women. This was meant to resonate especially with the largely Catholic population, religious interest groups, and the Catholic healthcare professionals. While public opinion in Mexico City is largely in favor of legal abortion, the negotiation with religious as well as conscientiously objecting doctors and nurses was proven difficult.JOURNAL, Wilson, Kate S., García SG, Díaz Olavarrieta C, Villalobos-Hernández A, Rodríguez JV, Smith PS, Burks C., Public opinion on abortion in Mexico City after the landmark reform, Studies in Family Planning, September 2011, 42, 3, 175–182, 21972670, 10.1111/j.1728-4465.2011.00279.x, Their religious faith had a major impact on the negotiation, because of Catholic’s view on abortion as a sin.The anti-abortion movement in Mexico has been led by the Catholic Church. The Church remains influential in Mexico, and in any discussion of abortion, the government discusses the reactions and policies of the Church. It is also the Church’s influence that has guided the debate towards a public health rationale rather than a reproductive choice rationale—staying away from a pro-choice stance. After the law was passed in April 2007, the Catholic Church collected 70,000 signatures supporting an abortion referendum.Under Articles 6 and 24, the Mexican constitution protects citizens with freedom of religion in Mexico. During the first few weeks after the law passed in 2007, many doctors and nurses did not partake in abortions, citing their Catholic faith.NEWS, Mexico City Struggles With Law on Abortion,www.nytimes.com/2008/08/25/world/americas/25mexico.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0, 15 March 2014, New York Times, 24 August 2008, ELISABETH MALKIN, NACHA CATTAN, NEWS, Tobar, Hector, In Mexico, abortion is out from shadows,articles.latimes.com/2007/nov/03/world/fg-abortion3, 15 March 2014, Los Angeles Times, 3 November 2007, The LAFD dealt with the Church’s influence on public hospitals and their employees by reinforcing the reforms made in the Robles law (the law permitting abortion to be legal in Federal District (Mexico) and requiring, in Article 14 Bis 6 of the Health Law, that once again hospitals must have non-objecting doctors on call for abortions). The Robles Law uses language that makes it clear that the right to object on religious grounds is not absolute and that the woman’s right to receive the abortion trumps the doctor’s right to object where no non-objecting doctor can be located. Furthermore, Article 14 Bis 3 established the Clinical Commission for Evaluation to ensure that doctors were performing abortions and that every time a woman requests information about an abortion, it is recorded by an independent, centralized body of the government. Former Secretary of Health, Manuel Mondragon, under the Mayor of Mexico City, Marcelo Ebrard, ensured that abortions were readily available to women who sought them under the legal circumstances. Essentially, the law incorporates a conscientious objection exemption for health care providers, and similarly requires that hospitals then provide a woman with an alternate provider, who will perform the abortion. Furthermore, the separation of church and state is enshrined in the Mexican Reform Laws of 1859, and some attempts by the Church to influence abortion law were illegal. The major separation of the church and state did not permit for religious reasoning to be the major influence on policies, but the Catholic church threatened to prohibit the individuals supporting the policy from attending any religious sanctions and ceremonies.According to Sanchez Fuentes et al., more than 80 percent of the women who have sought services are Catholic, and formally educated, claiming to help destigmatize abortion, influencing public opinion.

Surveys

• In a May 2005 Consulta Mitofsky survey, when asked, “Would you agree or disagree with the legalization of abortion in Mexico?”, 51% of polltakers said that they would disagree, 47.9% said that they would agree, and 1.1% said that they were unsure.“Mexico Deeply Divided on Social Issues {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070621185040www.angus-reid.com/polls/index.cfm/fuseaction/viewItem/itemID/7940 |date=June 21, 2007 }}.” (July 5, 2005). Angus Reid Global Monitor. Retrieved June 20, 2007.
• A November 2005 IMO survey found that 73.4% of Mexicans think abortion should not be legalized, while 11.2% think it should.“Mexicans Support Status Quo on Social Issues {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061219180739www.angus-reid.com/polls/index.cfm/fuseaction/viewItem/itemID/10042 |date=December 19, 2006 }}.” (December 1, 2005). Angus Reid Global Monitor. Retrieved January 10, 2006.
• A January 2007 Consulta Mitofsky poll examined attitudes toward birth control methods in Mexico, asking, “Currently, there are many methods meant to prevent or terminate a pregnancy. In general, do you agree with the following methods?” 32.1% of respondents stated that they agreed with abortion.“Mexicans Support Birth Control, Not Abortion {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070331132053www.angus-reid.com/polls/index.cfm/fuseaction/viewItem/itemID/15192 |date=March 31, 2007 }}.” (March 28, 2007). Angus Reid Global Monitor. Retrieved June 20, 2007.
• A March 2007 Parametría survey compared the opinions of people living in Mexico City with those living throughout the rest of the country, asking, “Do you agree or disagree with allowing women to have an abortion without being penalized, if the procedure takes place within the first 14 weeks of a pregnancy?” In Mexico City, 44% said they “agree”, 38% that they “disagree”, 14% that they “neither” agree nor disagree, and 3% that they are “not sure”. Throughout the rest of Mexico, 58% of those surveyed said that they “disagree”, 23% that they “agree”, 15% that they “neither” agree nor disagree, and 4% that they are “not sure”.“Urban-Rural Abortion Divide Evident in Mexico {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070623030000www.angus-reid.com/polls/index.cfm/fuseaction/viewItem/itemID/15398 |date=June 23, 2007 }}.” (April 15, 2007). Angus Reid Global Monitor. Retrieved June 20, 2007.
• According to a survey in August 2021 made by El Financiero (one of Mexico’s leading daily newspapers) and Nación321, asking, “Do you agree or disagree with women’s right to abortion allowed by law?”: 53% of the total population said they “disagree” and 45% said they ‘agree’. Related to gender, 45% of men and 46% of women said they ‘agree’. Related to age, 54% of people between 18 and 29 years, 53% of people between 30 and 49 years, and 30% of people older than 50 years; said they ‘agree’. Related to level of education, 56% of people with higher education and 36% of people with basic education said they ‘agree’. Related to income, 48% of higher to middle-high whilst 41% of lower to middle-low said they ‘agree’. The survey shows the trend since February 2019.NEWS, 8 September 2021, Derecho al aborto divide al país: 53% en contra; 45% a favor., Spanish, El Financiero,www.elfinanciero.com.mx/nacional/2021/09/08/derecho-al-aborto-divide-al-pais-53-en-contra-45-a-favor/, 11 September 2021, NEWS, 8 September 2021, ENCUESTA: Derecho al aborto divide al país: 53% en contra; 45% a favor, Spanish, Nación321,www.nacion321.com/ciudadanos/encuesta-derecho-al-aborto-divide-al-pais-53-en-contra-45-a-favor, 11 September 2021, NEWS, 11 January 2021, Support for abortion jumped in Mexico last year, survey finds., English, Reuters,www.reuters.com/article/us-mexico-abortion-idUSKBN29G2HX, 11 September 2021,

See also

• Mexico City Policy
• Law of Mexico
• Verónica Cruz Sánchez
• Reproductive rights in Latin America

References

{{Reflist|2}}{{Abortion in North America}}{{Abortion}}

Further reading

• Singer, Elyse Ona. Lawful Sins: Abortion Rights and Reproductive Governance in Mexico. Stanford: Stanford University Press 2022. {{ISBN|978-1-5036-3147-2}}