With a unanimous vote of 10, the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN) declared the criminalization of abortion unconstitutional.
The Plenary invalidated Article 196 of the Criminal Code of the state of Coahuila, which imposed the penalty of up to three years in prison on a woman who had an abortion, or on the person who helped her with her consent.
Article 195 is also invalidated, which stated that “whoever causes death to the product of conception, at any time during pregnancy, commits abortion”; in this case, seven ministers voted in favour.
The Minister President, Arturo Zaldívar, said that the decision not only invalidates the rules that were discussed, but also establishes a “mandatory criterion for all judges in the country.”
“From now on, it will not be possible, without violating the criteria of the Court and the Constitution, to prosecute any woman who has an abortion in the cases that this constitutional court has considered valid.
“From now on, a new route of freedom, clarity and respect for all pregnant people, but especially for women, begins. It is another step in the historic struggle for their equality, their dignity and the full exercise of their rights,” he said.
During the second day of discussion, Minister José Fernando Franco and Minister Margarita Ríos-Farjat spoke in favor of declaring the criminalization of abortion unconstitutional.
Yesterday, eight of the ministers took a stand in favour of the project. Minister José Mario Pardo was not present for the discussion.
Read: These sayings misinform abortion and women’s rights
Minister Margarita Ríos-Farjat said she was in favor of not criminalizing the voluntary interruption of pregnancy. He affirmed that “no one gets pregnant in the exercise of their autonomy and then aborts.”
It broke out that between 750,000 and one million clandestine abortions are performed every year; increases complications according to poverty and rural residence.
The action of unconstitutionality 148/2017 was promoted in October 2017 by the then Attorney General’s Office (PGR), demanding the invalidity of various provisions of the Criminal Code of the state of Coahuila de Zaragoza.
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