The Supreme Court of Justice of Mexico (SCJN) approved on September 6 the decriminalization of abortion at the federal level after considering the proposal of the Information Group on Chosen Reproduction (GIRE). The SCJN announced it like this: “Thanks to a protection won by GIRE, all women and people with the capacity to become pregnant will be able to access abortion services at any federal health institution.”
The Constitutional Court of Mexico considers the criminalization of abortion unconstitutional because it violates women’s human rights. This decision of the highest court obliges federal public health institutions, such as the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS) and the Institute of Security and Social Services of State Workers (ISSSTE) or PEMEX, to offer this service in a manner free. Furthermore, according to the Court’s resolution, in no case can medical personnel be criminalized.
Until now, only a dozen states in the country allowed women to terminate pregnancy with a limit, in most legislation, of 12 weeks of gestation.
The new norm involves modifying the Penal Code to eliminate the crime of abortion, which is defined in article 329 as “the death of the product of conception at any time during pregnancy,” and which contemplates a penalty of one to three years for those who “make a woman abort,” even with her consent. It also included disqualifications of two to five years for doctors who practiced it.
Bioethical assessment
Unfortunately, once again it is confirmed that in the ethical consideration of abortion and its consequences, only the woman’s right to decide is taken into account, as if it were the only person involved in the abortion. Something of great importance is ignored: the existence of another human person – her own child – who, although developing, is a human being with equal dignity to her from the moment of conception. On the other hand, as in other legislations that are permissive with abortion, no importance is given to the opinion of the father, who should be heard as another person involved, although this does not mean that abortion ceases to be an immoral practice. Some groups, such as GIRE in Mexico, present this decision as progress. Is it progress to exterminate defenseless and dependent beings? Isn’t the true progress of a society protecting the most vulnerable and needy? These decisions in favor of abortion mask a profound setback.
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