Written by Paulina Macías Ortega.
Paulina is an LL.M 2024-2025. candidate in National and Global Health Law at Georgetown University, researching reproductive rights at the O’Neill Institute. Her work focuses on human rights litigation and advocacy within the Inter-American and Global Systems, with a gender perspective. Her interests include sexual and reproductive rights, feminist legal theory, constitutional law, bioethics, and autonomy.
The fight to decriminalize abortion in Mexico has marked a landmark year in 2024. Seven state legislatures have partially decriminalized abortion, while three court decisions have paved the way for additional federal entities to follow suit. As of December 2024, 19 of the nation’s 32 federal entities have decriminalized abortion, with many of these accomplishments occurring this year alone. This progress requires careful consideration of these milestones and the way forward.
To sum up this year’s achievements in reproductive rights, we need to look back at Mexico’s journey. In 2007, Mexico City (then Federal District) legalized abortion during the first trimester, making it greater jurisdiction in Latin America outside of Cuba to provide safe and legal abortion services. This victory, achieved through the persistent efforts groups and reproductive rights activists, set a critical precedent.
The aftermath of the Mexico City decision, however, caused significant pushback. Several state legislatures they responded by amending their constitutions to strengthen protections for the unborn. By December 2008, Baja California and Morelos had enacted such protections defending life from arrest, with twelve more states after 2009 and two in 2010. It would take until 2019 for further progress, so Oaxaca became the second state to allow abortion during the first twelve weeks of pregnancy.
A transformative change occurred in 2021 when the Supreme Court of Mexico ruled that the absolute criminalization of abortion was unconstitutional. This landmark decision, stemming from the Coahuila case, affirmed for the first time the right of women and pregnant people to make reproductive choices without criminal consequences. As a result, the Coahuila legislature repealed the articles that had criminalized abortion. In the same year, Hidalgo, Veracruz, Baja Californiaand Colima amended their criminal codes to decriminalize abortion up to the twelfth week of pregnancy, catalyzing a nationwide wave of reform. In 2023, the Supreme Court further strengthened this progress by holding that the Federal Penal Code section criminalizes abortion will no longer have legal effect.
The momentum continued throughout 2024. On July 15, the Congress of Puebla decriminalized abortion through the 12th week of pregnancy, marking the first legislative victory of the year. Two neighboring states followed in October: Jaliscoafter a decision of the Collective Court, and Michoacanthrough a local law initiative supported by feminist collectives. In November, four additional states joined the trend: San Luis Potosi, Zacatecas, State of Mexicoand Chiapas all decriminalized abortions up to 12 weeks of pregnancy.
All states implementing reforms this year established exceptions for pregnancies resulting from rape or non-consensual insemination, as well as cases where the life or health of the pregnant woman is at risk. Chiapas is the only exception, excluding health-related exceptions. San Luis Potosi and Estado de Mexico added exemptions for involuntary abortions, while Jalisco, Zacatecas and Chiapas included cases of serious genetic or fetal abnormalities. Michoacán uniquely included economic hardship as grounds for exemption, while Jalisco was the only state to specifically address child sexual abuse cases.
The regulatory landscape for abortion in Mexico is becoming increasingly complex. Beyond the option of terminating the pregnancy within the first twelve weeks, there are now ten reasons for legal exclusioneach regulated differently in the thirty-two states. This complexity presents significant challenges for pregnant women seeking abortion and health professionals across the country.
In these reforms, criminalization approaches vary by state. The Estado de Mexico, Jalisco and Puebla have introduced tougher penalties for health professionals who assist in abortions. In Jalisco, the law imposes prison sentences of four months to one year for women who terminate pregnancies after 12 weeks, while doctors face three to six years in prison and possible license suspension. The Estado de Mexico focuses on punishing medical personnel with professional suspensions ranging from three to six years, which can be extended to 20 years for multiple offenses.
Other states have moved toward community service measures. Zacatecas, San Luis Potosi, and Michoacan established community service requirements ranging from 100 to 300 days for abortions after the 12-week window. Chiapas took a unique approach, requiring one to three months of comprehensive gender-focused treatment in accordance with local gender equality laws and without setting penalties for medical professionals.
While the transition from incarceration to community work represents progress, it remains insufficient. The continued criminalization of abortion has serious consequences. Research indicates that the criminalization of abortion impedes access to information, limits provider training, and is associated with delayed and unsafe procedures, without achieving its purported protective goals.
The difference in sanctions and criminalization between states creates practical challenges. When neighboring states have drastically different standards – such as one state imposing years in prison while its neighbor allows unrestricted access – it creates unequal standards of access to reproductive health care. This can potentially lead to provider migration and legal uncertainty as healthcare providers face a challenging balance between protecting their legal status and prioritizing patient care.
While 2024 saw unprecedented progress in reproductive rights across Mexico, the path forward remains complex and challenging. Recent developments highlight both the potential for continued progress and the persistent threat of regression. Three additional court decisions declared unconstitutional criminal regulation and ban on voluntary termination of pregnancy: Supreme Court ruling Yucatan and similar decisions by Collegiate Courts in Nayarit and Morelos. These decisions suggest that 2025 could bring further decriminalisation, although the specific terms and implementation are to be determined.
However, troubling failures have occurred. In August 2024, Aguascalientes retreated from a 12-week window to a 6-week window for legal abortions, violating the principle of non-retrogression and creating dangerous barriers to access to health care, particularly for vulnerable populations such as young survivors of sexual violence. Likewise, Mexico City frozen initiative The complete removal of abortion from the Penal Code – stalled due to political concerns over timing – echoes the backlash that followed the city’s pioneering decriminalization in 2007.
These conflicting developments highlight a critical reality: progress in reproductive rights is neither linear nor guaranteed. The complex regulatory landscape in the states of Mexico continues to be created inequalities in health care access and legal protection. As more states move toward decriminalization, either through legislative action or court orders, the challenge is not only to extend these gains but also to prevent regression and ensuring consistent, accessible reproductive health care across the country.
Looking ahead, Mexico is at a critical juncture in its reproductive rights journey. While the push toward decriminalization continues, continued vigilance and advocacy remain key to protecting and advancing these hard-won rights. The real measure of success will lie not in legal reforms alone, but in creating a health care system that ensures equal access to safe abortion services for all who need them, regardless of their location or circumstances.
