If a Mexican woman has an abortion, she could find herself in jail unless she had been raped, her life was at risk or there was a likelihood of severe birth defects. But that’s about to change in the capital city, home to one-fifth of Mexico’s population, where the legislature has voted by a wide margin to decriminalize abortion.


AP via Houston Chronicle:

MEXICO CITY — Mexico City lawmakers voted to legalize abortion Tuesday, a decision likely to influence policies and health practices across Mexico and other parts of heavily Roman Catholic Latin America.

The proposal, approved 46-19, with one abstention, will take effect with the expected signing by the city’s leftist mayor. Abortion opponents have already vowed to appeal the law to the Supreme Court, a move likely to extend the bitter and emotional debate in this predominantly Catholic nation.

“Decriminalizing abortion is a historic triumph, a triumph of the left,” said city legislator Jorge Diaz Cuervo, a leftist social democrat who voted for the bill. “Today, there is a new atmosphere in this city. It is the atmosphere of freedom.”

Read more

Rooted in Truth.
Independent by Design.

Your support helps ensure that rigorous reporting, thoughtful analysis, and investigative journalism remain accessible to everyone.

Support independent journalism.

SUPPORT TRUTHDIG