Human rights activists in Mexico have welcomed a historic ruling by the country’s supreme court that decriminalized abortion, but warned that the historic decision will not automatically make terminations accessible for all Mexican women.
Wednesday’s unanimous decision stripped away federal criminal penalties related to abortions – but not the many local laws banning the procedure, which remain on the books in 20 of Mexico’s 32 states.
Employees at government health facilities will no longer need to worry about federal penalties for carrying out an abortion, and the ruling is expected to provide pro-choice activists with a powerful precedent as they continue their state-by-state campaign to roll back restrictions.
But campaigners cautioned that many facilities and medical workers are likely to continue refusing to carry out terminations – sometimes in all cases, and sometimes if the woman is unable to prove she does not have the means to care for a child.
“Though this is a big deal, it could still be very difficult for people to get abortions. In some places, they will still likely refuse access to women, for many different reasons, and that will be visible when women actually go in and try to get abortions and are turned away. We’re going to have to see whether the effect is immediate, or whether this ruling really only affects the criminal system,” said Tyler Mattiace, a Mexico researcher at Human Rights Watch.
Mexico’s congress will also need to pass an accompanying resolution to eliminate abortion from the country’s penal code in order for the legalization to become a reality.
“The ruling is worth celebrating, but it doesn’t mean our work is done,” said Ana Gonzalez, an activist in the northern city of Monterrey. “We still have a lot of work to make abortion a cultural reality in Mexico – not just a structural, legal right.”
Gonzalez said that activists across Mexico had been working for decades to ensure that women in most areas can find help getting clandestine abortions.
“If this ruling is able to increase access, it will help women in situations of domestic violence, or who are at personal risk, because it will make it easier for them to get out of that situation without having to [jump one more barrier.]”
The ruling – and the potential backlash – reflects a battle for women’s rights being fought across Latin America, where dramatic moves by the courts and legislatures have at times been met by lingering resistance by local governments and members of the medical profession.
Argentina and Colombia legalized abortion in 2020 and 2022 in major victories in the region’s “green tide” of feminist activism. But the achievements stand on shaky ground, as rightwing leaders and movements seek to overturn them.
In Argentina, far-right presidential candidate Javier Milei has vowed to strip away the right to reproductive healthcare if he is elected. In Chile, where abortions were partially decriminalized in 2017, far-right groups have pledged to roll back the right to choose.
In most of Latin America, abortion remains illegal or restricted only to emergencies that would risk the mother’s life. Even in countries where abortion is legal, access to pills or a procedure can be inconsistent, especially in rural areas.
Dr Anu Kumar, the director of IPAS, an international reproductive health organization, said that the Mexican court ruling had the potential to set an important example in the region – if there is a political will to ensure access to abortion is ensured at the ground level.
“After the decision to overturn abortion rights in the US last year, we’ve seen anti-rights groups become emboldened in Latin America, which has always been a fertile ground for anti-rights movements, and there is definitely active opposition to abortion rights in Mexico,” she said.
But she added that major challenges remained, saying: “Mexico has a highly fractured, complicated health system, and the bureaucracy may be difficult to move. They have the means to move fairly quickly to expand access, but only if they have a will to do it – and that is what remains to be seen.”
After Wednesday’s ruling, Morras Help Morras, an organization which helps Mexican women find abortion care, posted that medication used for abortions procedures can still be accessed over the counter: “We want to remind all women and people who can give birth that they can safely have an abortion by buying misoprostol pills for 500 pesos.”
