Mexican Supreme Court’s abortion decision expands access to millions, stands in contrast to US

By FABIOLA SÁNCHEZ and MEGAN JANETSKY
Associated Press

MEXICO CITY (AP) — The decision by Mexico’s Supreme Court to invalidate all federal criminal penalties for abortion opened access for millions of people in the sprawling public health system. That happened a year after the court’s U.S. counterpart went in the opposite direction. Wednesday’s ruling was not Roe v. Wade, the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court ruling guaranteeing women’s access to abortion. But it was a dramatic change in Mexico that could lend momentum to efforts to legalize abortion. Criminal penalties for abortion remained on the books Thursday in 20 of Mexico’s 32 states. But government health providers now need not worry about federal penalties for abortion. That’s because the Supreme Court ruled that they were an unconstitutional violation of women’s human rights.