Mexico court rules another abortion law unconstitutional

Authored by france24.com and submitted by DoremusJessup

In this file photo taken on September 28, 2020, supporters of the legalization of abortion take part in a demonstration on International Safe Abortion Day, in Guadalajara, Mexico

Mexico's Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that a state law defining life as beginning at conception and equating abortion with murder was unconstitutional in another victory for abortion rights campaigners.

The unanimous decision by the top court concerns the penal code of the northern state of Sinaloa, but will also affect other states with similar laws.

"It's not up to any local legislature or this plenary to establish the origin of human life, especially in the absence of scientific consensus," said Judge Alfredo Gutierrez Ortiz Mena.

After Mexico City decriminalized abortion in the first 12 weeks in 2007, at least 10 of the country's 32 states passed laws obliging the authorities to protect life from the moment of conception.

The legislation meant that abortion was equated with infanticide, according to experts.

Mexico has a federated system in which the states establish their own laws, but they can be overridden by Supreme Court rulings that establish jurisprudence.

On Tuesday the top court ruled that women should not be punished for abortion, opening the way for women across the country to access the procedure without fear of being prosecuted and potentially imprisoned.

Up to now, abortion has been legal in four states including Mexico City in the first 12 weeks, while elsewhere, it was permitted in cases of rape.

SuperStockDriver on September 10th, 2021 at 06:12 UTC »

It’s going to be a hella paradox. Texans sneaking into Mexico now.

Zeeformp on September 10th, 2021 at 02:37 UTC »

This is the second court ruling in 2 days, not a repeat article. Very interesting that the Court has decided to take these steps this week. Earlier this week the Court declared that it was unconstitutional to criminalize abortion; this case now compounds with the former case, and it would not be surprising to see a rapid overturn in abortion restrictions in the country. Good for Mexico!

autotldr on September 10th, 2021 at 02:00 UTC »

This is the best tl;dr I could make, original reduced by 60%. (I'm a bot)

Mexico's Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that a state law defining life as beginning at conception and equating abortion with murder was unconstitutional in another victory for abortion rights campaigners.

After Mexico City decriminalized abortion in the first 12 weeks in 2007, at least 10 of the country's 32 states passed laws obliging the authorities to protect life from the moment of conception.

Up to now, abortion has been legal in four states including Mexico City in the first 12 weeks, while elsewhere, it was permitted in cases of rape.

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