On March 8, 2022, the Sinaloa Congress approved the decriminalization of abortion up to the 13th week of pregnancy. With 28 votes in favour, 2 against and nine abstentions, the company became the seventh of 32 states to make changes to its civil code. The decriminalization of abortion in Mexico is one of the most controversial issues in today`s society. On the one hand, there are those who believe that abortion is a public health problem and, as such, must be safe, free and free. In states such as Michoacán, Tlaxcala, Colima, and Yucatán, it is necessary to present and prove at least six causes for which abortion is requested. It can be rape, the woman`s life may be in danger, the pregnancy may harm the ± mother, the baby may have serious genetic malformations©, the abortion© may be careless, by non-consensual artificial insemination or for economic reasons. In 2008, the SCJN declared it constitutional to decriminalize abortion up to the 12th week of pregnancy in what was then the Federal District. In Latin America, the only places where abortion is legal, regardless of the reason the woman chose to perform it, are Cuba, Uruguay, Guyana, French Guiana and Puerto Rico, according to an article in Animal Politico. In Mexico©, the country`s Supreme Court (SCJN±) declared the abortion penalty unconstitutional last year.
As the nation`s highest court, the ruling prohibits all jurisdictions from charging a woman with abortion, meaning it allows women living in states where it is sanctioned to appeal an abortion to health care facilities. For more than a century, abortion has been permitted for certain reasons and hypotheses for which abortion cannot be punished. These situations or conditions of legal abortion still exist and will continue to exist because their relevance is now linked to health laws. In total, there are 9 and each entity determines which ones are valid in its territory and which are not:[25] Which states in Mexico are legal? In all the states of the Mexican Republic, there are various causes for which a woman may choose to terminate her pregnancy. The Federal Social Security System (IMSS, ISSSTE or ISSFAM) may not perform legal abortions for reasons or cases not provided for in the Federal Criminal Code. Although the General Health Act does not specifically mention abortion, according to the CSYK precedent, personal protections can be requested so that federal institutions guarantee abortions for the cause of serious health harm. Proposals to decriminalize and legalize elective abortion were rare or spaced out during this period. It was only in 2014 that Michoacán`s local penal code was reformed to reinforce another cause, namely the “precarious economic situation” during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. In this way, it became the second state to do so, along with Yucatan, although almost 70 years apart.
[203] Mexico City made history in 2007 by becoming the first state to decriminalize abortion. By 46 votes in favour, 19 against and one abstention, article 144 of the Criminal Code was reformed. IF THE PRODUCT HAS A SERIOUS BIRTH DEFECT If the product has changes that may cause serious physical or mental harm, you are entitled to abortion if you have the diagnosis of two specialists who decide separately and independently that the fetus has serious genetic or congenital changes. This reason is guaranteed by article 136, section IV, of the State Criminal Code. Previously, in August 2000, amendments had been made to the penal code to increase the grounds for legal abortion, but without taking into account electoral abortion (Robles law). Similarly, amendments to the Health Act were made in January 2004 to effectively guarantee abortion under the Penal Code (which does not yet include voluntary abortion). The states of Mexico that do not allow abortion by non-consensual insemination are: In Michoacán and Yucatán, abortion is allowed even if there are serious economic causes. By 16 votes in favour, three against and zero abstentions, the local Congress approved amendments to the Penal Code and the Health Care Act to ensure that pregnant women have access to legal termination of antenatal care.
Thus, many states are beginning to decriminalize and legalize electoral abortion. In September 2019, Oaxaca will be the second (12 years after Mexico City) at the 12th week of pregnancy. [209] In April 2021, Mexico City attempted to pass a new health law to set the maximum abortion limit for rape at 20 weeks, contradicting the General Victims Law and NOM-046-SSA2-2005. That is why the reform was not adopted, I go back for consideration, and from now on, the local health law explicitly mentions the two federal regulations (again pioneering in Mexico). [210] [211] Then, in June 2021, Hidalgo will be from the third to the 12th week of pregnancy. [212]. In July 2021, Veracruz will be from the fourth to the 12th week of pregnancy. [213] In September 2021, Coahuila will become the fifth without specifying the deadline. [214] In October 2021, Baja California will be six to 12 weeks of pregnancy. [215] In December 2021, Colima will be in the seventh to 12th week of pregnancy. [216] In March 2022, Sinaloa will be the eighth to 13th week of pregnancy. In May 2022, Guerrero will be from ninth to 12th to 12th place.
Week of pregnancy. [217] In June 2022, Baja California Sur will be from the tenth to 12th week of pregnancy. [218] Frinã© Salguero, director of the Simone de Beauvoir Leadership Institute in Mexico©, agrees that the road to banning the criminalization of abortion is long. “This is a `semi-decriminalization` because the court decision says that the criminalization of abortion is unconstitutional, but abortion does not come from the state penal code,” he ±. Therefore, it is still a crime, and although all judges must comply with the court`s decision, there is a need to educate them on the issue,” he says. In the 2021 midterm elections, current governor Indira Vizcaíno Silva openly advocated abortion and was one of the few to do so at the time. There are 25 states that allow abortion for this particular cause. Between advances and setbacks, the decriminalization of abortion is progressing in Mexico©. The country`s Supreme Court has picked up the pace by declaring the imprisonment of women for abortion unconstitutional and enacting “human life from conception” laws that violate the sexual and reproductive rights of Mexican women. The decisions set a historic precedent, but there is still a long way to go before elective abortion is no longer illegal in 28 of the country`s 32 states.
Since 2007, only one person has died, because although the procedure, especially surgery, is carried out with the highest quality and safety standards, there is still a risk of complications. This contrasts with IWRM`s estimate of 120 deaths per year before decriminalization and legalization in the state. In the United States, a statistical correlation was found between the beginning of women`s abortion freedom and the decline in criminal violence 20 years later. [254] Proponents of the criminalization of abortion argue that the fetus and embryo are a human being with full rights. Thanks to the above, those imprisoned for the crime of voluntary abortion have been able to leave prison, as jurisdiction in Mexico can only be applied retroactively if it benefits human rights. For this reason, the Federal Ministry of the Interior (Segob), in coordination with the Judicial Support Unit, the National Commission for the Prevention and Eradication of Violence against Women (Conavim) and the National Commission of the Supreme Courts of the United Mexican States (CONATRIB), is implementing the necessary procedures for the release of convicted persons. [93] [94] [95] [96] Similarly, amnesty laws that some organizations have enacted since the beginning of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador`s government have been strengthened. Some organizations have even created specific amnesty laws for women who have again been victims of gender-based violence. [97] Despite the court`s decision invalidating part of Coahuila`s Penal Code because women were criminalized for abortion, there is no immediate obligation to change laws in other states±, according to Isabel Fulda, deputy director of the pro-abortion organization Gire.