Mexico’s Supreme Court ruled on September 7, 2021, that punishing abortion is unconstitutional, unanimously overturning several provisions of a law from Coahuila, a border state with Texas. The country is known to be largely Catholic, which is why the unanimous Supreme Court decision establishes a historic precedent.
In arguments that began Monday, eight of the eleven Supreme Court justices expressed support for decriminalization, making the decision all but certain. The vote comes at a time when a powerful women’s movement is reshaping Mexico, where female politicians now make up half of Congress.
While abortion is still illegal in most of Latin America, there has been a surge in protests demanding more rights for women, particularly in light of rising violence.
Court President Arturo Zaldivar said, “From now on you will not be able to, without violating the court’s criteria and the constitution, charge any woman who aborts under the circumstances this court has ruled as valid.”
The decision comes just one week after a Texas law prohibiting abortions once medical professionals detect cardiac activity in the fetus went into effect. It allows any private citizen to sue Texas abortion providers who break the law, as well as anyone who “aides or abets” a woman undergoing the procedure.
However, abortion is still a contentious issue in Mexico. The schism was on display Tuesday as protesters from both sides gathered outside the court. Dozens of people knelt in front of the court in prayer. Christian pro-life demonstrators waved blue balloons and held signs that read, “Let’s Save Both Lives.”
National Action Party said that it is still opposed to abortion. In a statement, they said: “We are in favor of the defense of life from conception and until natural death.” The party requested that conscientious objection be protected “for ethical, moral, or religious motives.”
Babies are human beings and deserve the same right to live as any other. Psalm 139:13-14 says:
For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
No one has the right to murder an innocent life. Pray that Mexican authorities will side with morality and Biblical understanding of life.