Mexico City, Sept 6, (dpa/GNA) – Mexico’s Supreme Court, on Wednesday decriminalized abortion nationwide.
The court ruled that it was unconstitutional to impose prison sentences for terminating pregnancies, and parliament was ordered to remove the penalties, which have been in place since 1931, from the penal code.
Criminalizing abortions violates the human rights of women and other childbearing individuals, the court said.
In 2021, the Supreme Court had declared an absolute ban on abortion unconstitutional. However, the penal code continues to provide for prison sentences of up to five years for abortions. Doctors involved can also face prison.
Abortion rights are not uniform across all of Mexico, a country with a population of 126 million. Abortions are punishable in 20 of 32 states, with abortions allowed in some states just in special cases, such as in the case of rape, or if the mother’s life is in danger.
The lawsuit for nationwide decriminalization was filed in the Supreme Court by the civil society organization GIRE. Following the ruling, public hospitals throughout the country must now also grant the right to free abortion.
GNA