Mexican Supreme Court Upholds Abortion Law, Citing Human Rights

With an 8 (for) to 3 (against) vote in Mexico's Supreme Court, the April 24, 2007 law making abortion legal in Mexico, under any circumstance during the first twelve weeks of pregnancy, is now deemed constitutional.  On Thursday, August 28, 2008, eight justices agreed that the case of unconstitutionality brought before the Court by the National Attorney General's Office and the National Human Rights Commission against the new law was without basis.  This landmark decision in Mexico means that the abortion law in Mexico City must be enforced; it also sets a strong legal precedent (known as jurisprudencia) for movements in other states throughout the country to adopt the same law. Currently, abortion is legal in all of Mexico's states when the pregnancy is caused by rape; states' penal codes vary in terms of other legal indications, including when the pregnancy presents a risk to the life or health of the pregnant woman or in the case of fetal malformation, among others. 

Mexico's Supreme Court has stated in no uncertain terms that despite the strength of the traditional Catholic Church and other ultra-right conservative forces, science, secularism, and human rights are the true basis for deciding whether or not the abortion law should be upheld.  Justice Sergio Salvador Aguirre Anguiano, who wrote the supporting argument for the case of unconstitutionality, and his conservative supporters stand corrected; women throughout Mexico are vindicated with this decision. 

Activism has not paused for a moment.  On September 4, members of the Network for Sexual and Reproductive Rights in Mexico (ddeser, Red por los Derechos Sexuales y Reproductivos en México) demanded the resignation of José Luis Soberanes, President of the National Human Rights Commission, citing his incompetence in defending women's human rights and his unwillingness to defend the Constitution and international agreements on reproductive rights, signed or ratified by the Mexican Congress.   

What this could mean in the short, medium and long term is that unsafe abortion would disappear from the list of causes of maternal mortality in Mexico; right now, according to official statistics, unsafe abortion is the country's fifth most common reason why women die during pregnancy.  The crime here really is that abortion procedures (both "surgical" and with medications) are among the safest medical interventions that exist, meaning that not one woman should have to risk her health or her life because she cannot or does not want to continue with her pregnancy.  

The Supreme Court proceedings themselves are worthy of praise and study.  In the spirit of full transparency on this controversial topic, the Court held a series of public hearings from April 11 to June 27, 2008, which were broadcast live on their website.  This "microsite" can be consulted by anyone in the world and was constantly updated throughout the processes.  Videos of the public hearings (audiencias) can be consulted, along with presenters' notes, notes taken by the Court, press bulletins, and even a Virtual library with dozens of relevant documents, including laws and references.  During and after the proceedings, citizens have been encouraged to post their comments about the decision.

Testimonies from such noted activists and professionals, including Jesus Zamora Pierce Pierce Law Firm), Raffaela Schiavon Ermani (Ipas Mexico), Marta Lamas (Debate Feminista), Susana Lerner Sigal (Centro de Estudios Demográficos, Urbanos y Ambientales del Colegio de México), María del Consuelo Mejía Piñeros (Católicas por el Derecho a Decidir), and Pilar Muriedas Juárez (Foro Nacional de Mujeres y Políticas de Población), among others provided the rights-based and scientific evidence needed to substantiate and solidify the Court's final decision (the public statements supporting unconstitutionality can be viewed on the sites for days one, three, and five).  Such access to information and to the proceedings of the Court is unprecedented and, in my opinion, contributed to the strength of the debate and to the final decision of the Justices.   

Mexican feminists have struggled to legalize abortion for decades.  In 1931, Mexico City approved a law that "decriminalized" abortion in the case of pregnancy resulting from rape, from "imprudent" behavior on the part of the woman, and when the pregnancy presented a risk to the life of the woman.  Since then, the movement has continued and strengthened over time.

During the last 15 years in Mexico, especially since the international conferences in Cairo and Beijing (ICPD, 1994 and the Fourth World Conference on Women, 1995), the demands of civil society and particularly women increasingly have been incorporated into public debates, public policy and law.  Their strategies have been creative, collaborative, and based in strong scientific evidence; their successes come from their never-ending commitment to their causes and their resolve to contribute to significant and positive social change for citizens of this country. 

The Supreme Court's decision was heavily influenced by the work of women's groups and feminists throughout the country.  Life (vida), safe and voluntary motherhood, human rights, including reproductive rights, and the freedom and right to decide "in a free, responsible and informed manner the number and spacing of children" (Art. 4, Mexican Constitution, added in 1974) were invoked as support for the Court's final decision.  These arguments are congruent with contemporary, globalized societies (rather than the very narrow argument of "privacy" on which Roe v. Wade is based).  Strategies used by feminist organizations and civil society, as well as the process and final decision of Mexico's Supreme Court should be studied and used as a model for movements toward justice and human rights throughout the world. 

Gracias a las organizaciones listadas abajo por su trabajo sin descanso, (casi) siempre con sonrisa y siempre con energía y creatividad; Gracias a México, por su visión y compromiso a las vidas de los seres humanos.

Afluentes; Católicas por el Derecho a Decidir (Catholics for the Right to Decide); Consorcio para el Diálogo Parlamentario y la Equidad (Consortium for Parliamentary Dialogue and Equity); Decidir (Decide): Coalición de Jóvenes por la Ciudadanía Sexual (Youth Coalition for Sexual Citizenship); Elige (Choose): Red de Jóvenes por los Derechos Sexuales y Reproductivos (Network of Youth for Sexual and Reproductive Rights); Equidad de Género: Ciudadanía, Trabajo y Familia (Gender Equity: Citizenship, Work and Family); Federación Mexicana de Educación Sexual y Sexología (Femess, Mexican Federation for Sexual Education and Sexology); Foro de Mujeres y Políticas de Población DF (Forum on Women and Population Policies); Fundación Mexicana para la Planeación Familiar (Mexfam, Mexican Family Planning Foundation); Fundar, Centro de Análisis e Investigación (Analysis and Research Center); Grupo de Información en Reproducción Elegida (GIRE, Information Group on Reproductive Choice); Incide Social (Social Involvement); Ipas México; Kinal Antzetik Distrito Federal (Mexico City Kinal Antzetik); Letra S, Salud, Sexualidad y Sida (Letter S, Health, Sexuality and AIDS); Red Democracia y Sexualidad (demysex, Democracy and Sexuality Network); Population Council; Red Nacional Católica de Jóvenes por el Derecho a Decidir (National Network of Catholic Youth for the Right to Decide); Red por los Derechos Sexuales y Reproductivos en México (ddeser, Network for Sexual and Reproductive Rights in Mexico); Salud Integral para la Mujer (SIPAM, Integral Health for Women).

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