Women’s rights groups won protection against the crime of abortion in Yucatan

This is the first time that a federal judge grants an injuntion (amparo) in the state of Yucatan that takes up the latest decisions of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation on the interruption of pregnancy.

(MERIDA, YUC. – TYT).- A Federal Judge granted the injunction against the regulation of the crime of abortion in the Yucatan Penal Code and against the life protection clause established in the state Constitution.

The amparo was promoted by a group of women who are neither pregnant nor criminally prosecuted, and who argued that the abortion regulation in force in Yucatan has effects that limit the exercise of their rights because it promotes gender stereotypes about the reproductive function of women.

The Federal Judge agreed with the women plaintiffs and declared that the sanction imposed on women who voluntarily abort in Yucatan violates their reproductive rights because they do not allow them to make autonomous decisions about the continuation of the pregnancy.

She also pointed out that the life protection clause integrated into the local Constitution is unconstitutional because it seeks to interfere in the exercise of the reproductive rights of pregnant women.

The ruling orders that the criminal regulation of abortion and the life protection clause not be applied to the women plaintiffs, so that they could freely abort if they needed to, without having to justify the reason for their decision and without fear of being criminalized.

This injunction is the first in the State that takes up the latest decisions of the Court on abortion matters and joins other decisions in the same direction that have been made by Federal Courts in Nuevo León and Quintana Roo.

The decision of the Federal Judge reaffirms the possibility that pregnant women who reside in states where the penal code has not yet been modified can request a voluntary abortion without being criminalized.

The protection granted to this group of women shows the need for all the Penal Codes of the country to be modified to guarantee that pregnant women can make autonomous decisions about their reproductive processes without fear of being criminalized.

From the organizations that participate in the litigation strategy, we call on the Yucatan Congress to prioritize the debate on abortion to guarantee these rights. If this is not done, the injunctions will continue and, if necessary, the intervention of the Supreme Court will be requested.

We invite pregnant women, organizations, groups and medical personnel interested in promoting this type of protection in their states to approach any of the convening organizations that provide the necessary legal assistance.

The Yucatan Times
Newsroom

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