Mexico's Roe v. Wade

• Between 750,000 and 1 million women in Mexico each year terminate their pregnancies; most in clandestine and unsafe conditions since abortion is illegal in most states.
• Mexico City has had legal abortion since 2007, and support has been slowly growing in the rest of the country: in 2019, Oaxaca decriminalized it, followed by two more states, Hidalgo and Veracruz, just this summer.

How it works: The Supreme Court decision stemmed from a case in Coahuila and only applies to that state’s criminal code.

• But the precedent means other states that still criminalize procedures to end a pregnancy will have to reform local laws or risk lower courts striking down similar statutes.
• “Starting now no one will be able to criminally charge a woman who aborts without, in so doing, violating the court’s authority and the Constitution,” said chief justice Arturo Zaldívar.

Between the lines: Since 2019, Mexico’s upper court has taken a slew of progressive decisions. They include:

• Stating that prohibiting recreational use of marijuana is unconstitutional, effectively allowing Mexicans to cultivate cannabis for personal use without sanction.
• Ensuring that people who go through gender transition can get new birth certificates to reflect their identity regardless of differing state laws.

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