Mexico’s top court decriminalises abortion in ‘watershed moment’
- The decision was hailed as a major victory for women’s health and human rights, and comes even as parts of the US enact tougher laws against the practice
- The ruling may lead to American women in states such as Texas deciding to travel south of the border to terminate their pregnancies
Mexico’s Supreme Court unanimously ruled on Tuesday that penalising abortion is unconstitutional, a major victory for advocates of women’s health and human rights, just as parts of the United States enact tougher laws against the practice.
The ruling in the majority Roman Catholic nation means that courts can no longer prosecute abortion cases.
It follows moves to decriminalise abortion at the state level, although most of the country still has tough laws in place against women terminating their pregnancy and hundreds of mostly poor women across the country are behind bars as a result.
Supreme Court President Arturo Zaldivar called the unanimous decision “a watershed moment” for all women, especially the most vulnerable.
The vote establishes a mandatory criteria for all judges in the country, making it no longer possible to prosecute any woman who has an abortion without violating the criteria of the court and the constitution, Zaldivar said.