In historic vote, Mexico City decriminalizes early abortion

Photo courtesy of Sean Sprague, Panos Pictures.

The Legislative Assembly of the Federal District of Mexico City today passed landmark legislation to decriminalize abortion during the first trimester of pregnancy. The legislation permits pregnancy termination during the first three months of pregnancy and makes such abortions available upon request. It also reduces penalties for women seeking later abortions; in the cases of rape or incest, or to preserve the health and save the life of the mother, abortion is already legal and not considered a crime after 12 weeks gestation.

Dr. Raffaela Schiavon, Executive Director of Ipas Mexico, welcomed the vote:  “This is history.  This is an important victory for women’s health and rights, but it is only the beginning.” 

She noted that the challenge will fall to the health sector to implement the law.  “Health-care providers will need to be sensitized and trained in order for services to be available to women.” 

The next step is to inform women about the law change, she said.  “If women do not know they have a legal right to pregnancy termination, they will not request the service.”

Women in Mexico City are disproportionately affected by unsafe abortion.  It is the third leading cause of maternal mortality in the Federal District, compared to the fifth nationwide.  According to a national hospitalization data, more than 124,000 women were hospitalized in Mexico City for complications from unsafe abortion between 2001 and 2005.

The new law requires that the Mexico City Ministry of Health provide legal abortion services, free of charge, to any woman who requests it. It also requires the ministry to begin a campaign to prevent unwanted pregnancies by providing sexuality education and ensuring the availability of birth control methods, including emergency contraception.  The ministry has 60 days to release new guidelines to implement the legislation. 

The proposal had broad support within the Legislative Assembly.  The Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) and what’s commonly known in Mexico as the Alternative Party (PASC) earlier submitted their own proposals to expand access to legal abortion.  Both parties supported the final legislation that passed, as did the Democratic Revolution Party (PRD), which holds a majority of seats in the assembly. Only members of the conservative party National Action Party (PAN, the party of Mexico’s President Felipe Calderón) and the Green Party (PVEM) voted against the proposal.

Opponents to legal abortion have already threatened to challenge the constitutionality of the law. However, Schiavon hopes the legislation will inspire lawmakers in other states and at the national level.  In March, the head of the PRD in the Mexican Senate, Carlos Navarrete, introduced a similar proposal that is pending at the federal level. Legislators in the state of Tamaulipas have also introduced legislation to liberalize abortion laws in those states. 

“Access to safe abortion is central to women’s health and rights wherever they live,” said Schiavon. “We hope that other states will also adopt this new perspective.”

Dr. Schiavon is available for interviews by contacting Kirsten Sherk, +1 (919) 960-5612, or Ipas Mexico’s office in Mexico City, +52 (55) 11.07.69.69
For nearly two decades, Ipas Mexico has been working to remove barriers to safe abortion care for legally permitted indications, to improve health care for women with abortion-related complications and to reduce the consequences of unsafe abortion.  This work is made possible through the generous donations of foundations and individual donors. Click here to support Ipas’s work in Mexico.

For more information, contact:
Kirsten Sherk
Senior Associate, Media Relations
e-mail: sherkk@ipas.org
phone: 919.960.5612
fax: 919.929.0258