Mexican court decriminalizes abortion at the federal level

The Supreme National Court of Justice (SCJN) of Mexico was abolished the crime of abortion under the Federal Penal Code by granting protection to the Information Group for Selected Reproduction (GIRE).

“SCJN decriminalizes abortion at the federal level! Thanks to the amparo won by GIRE, all women and people of childbearing potential will be able to access abortion services at any federal health facility,” the organization announced via social network X (formerly Twitter).

In the same way, SCJN highlighted the mentioned decision on the same social network.

The first room of SCJN declared unconstitutional the punishment of abortion in the Federal Penal Code. For violating the human rights of women and pregnant women.

The Supreme Court declared unconstitutional in September 2021 the absolute ban on abortion in the criminal laws of the states. But since then, several territorial entities have changed comply with SCJN criteria in their laws, so crime is still criminalized at the local level.

Based on the said ruling, which declared the crime of abortion unconstitutional in the Penal Code of Coahuila, the organization filed an amparo.

The organization stated in a statement that all federal health institutions, such as the Mexican Institute of Social Security (IMSS) or the Institute of Security and Social Services for State Workers (ISSSTE), must provide the service to all pregnant women who request it.

In addition, they pointed out, health personnel who perform this type of assistance cannot be criminalized.

“Since it was unanimously approved, this ruling becomes binding for all local and federal judges, who will have to implement what the court said,” said the GIRE press release.

The feminist organization said it trusts the entities to guarantee reproductive autonomy.

Likewise, the federal Congress must amend the Criminal Code from the SCJN resolution as of today.

The project voted on was 267/2023 by Minister Margarita Ríos-Farjat. Articles 330, 331, 332, 333 and 334 of the Federal Penal Code, which mention the sanctions for the crime of abortion at the federal level, were analyzed.

So far, ten of the country’s 32 states allowed women to terminate their pregnancies with a limit of 12 weeks of pregnancy in most laws, which were gradually changed.

The first law on the decriminalization of abortion in Mexico was adopted in the capital of Mexico, then the Federal District, in 2007.