This Wednesday (06/09) went down in history as the day that abortion was decriminalized throughout Mexico.
The measure was established thanks to a decision by the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN) on the termination of pregnancy up to 12 weeks of gestation. The majority of judges considered that cases like this do not constitute a crime and should not have criminal consequences.
The text of the SCJN resolution states that the rules present in the Federal Penal Code are “unconstitutional” and that they “violate the human rights of women and people with the capacity to bear children”. These standards mentioned in the court’s decision are those that support the majority of women’s convictions for abortion cases in the country.
In another part, the resolution states that “the non-application of the rules that criminalize abortion at the federal level must be assimilated in practice by any judicial and administrative authority, and also by the Public Prosecutor’s Office agents who receive reports of these facts, for the benefit of the pregnant person and health workers and institutions involved in the practice of terminating pregnancy”.
In practical terms, this means that pregnant women and healthcare professionals who help people who wish to voluntarily terminate a pregnancy cannot be charged with a crime, just as the Public Prosecutor’s Office cannot process complaints for this reason.
Furthermore, the SCJN decision has a national character. From its publication, it becomes the norm in force throughout the territory of the Mexican federation and must prevail even in states where there is a state law that maintains the criminalization of abortion.
The approved resolution was the result of an initiative presented in 2022 by minister Ana Margarita Ríos Farjat.
The judge has been part of the Supreme Court since 2019 and was appointed by the current president of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
With information from The Conference e Infobae.
Source: www.brasildefato.com.br
