Photo courtesy of ProtoplasmaKid via Wikimedia Commons. The "Green Wave" reproductive rights movement has worked to decriminalize abortion in Mexico. The unanimous decision was reached on Sept. 6.
By Kiera McLaughlin ’26
Staff Writer
Content warning: This article discusses sexual violence.
The Supreme Court of Mexico recently ruled to decriminalize abortion across the nation in a decision on Sept. 6, 2023, BBC News reported. According to the Center for Reproductive Rights, the decision was unanimous.
The Center for Reproductive Rights further reported that Mexico’s large Roman Catholic population makes it the second-largest Catholic country in the world, leading the Center to remark in a recent online article on the significance of this decision for both the country and the region, as the Catholic Church does not support abortion procedures.
After the ruling, the head of the Supreme Court, Arturo Zaldívar, stated that “in cases of rape, no girl can be forced to become a mother — neither by the state nor by her parents nor her guardians,” BBC reported.
“No other court in the region has stated this right as clearly and it is a strong example of how Inter-American System standards are being applied in national courts: by recognizing and protecting women’s right to decide,” Catalina Martínez Coral, senior regional director for Latin America and the Caribbean for the Center for Reproductive Rights, said.
The Center for Reproductive Rights went on to explain that the ruling references people with gestational capacity, expanding beyond just the rights of women. Rebecca Ramos, director of the Grupo de Información en Reproducción Elegida — the organization responsible for the lawsuit that led to this ruling — explained to Ms. Magazine that “the decision means that more than 70 percent of women and people with the capacity to get pregnant can now access a legal abortion in Mexico.”
The same Ms. Magazine article explained that this ruling comes from the success of the “Green Wave,” a Latin American movement focused on legalizing abortion in the region. It saw specific success in Catholic countries such as Argentina in 2020. This movement originated in Argentina in an effort to recognize abortion as a non-partisan topic, which led to the victory of the bill legalizing abortions in Argentina, Mariela Belski, the executive director of Amnesty International Argentina, wrote in an article for Al Jazeera. The green bandana, or “pañuelo verde,” was chosen because it represents liveliness and health in the fight for reproductive rights.
While there has been overwhelming positivity from around the world and progressive politicians supporting the decision, according to the Catholic Review, the Mexican bishops’ conference tweeted in opposition. The statement read,, “those of us convinced of the value of life have no need for a murderous law such as the one that is being approved … We hope that your option for life is not conditional on an ideology, rather motivated by faith, hope and love.”
Additionally, Di RAMONA, a pro-choice nonprofit in Mexico, highlighted the hope that comes from this decision in an interview with the Global Fund for Women, reminding everyone that “the cries of anger, pain, joy and sisterhood on the streets have certainly placed the feminist movement at the center of public attention as a strong and necessary movement that is requesting radical change in life as we know it. We can say for sure that this is not going unnoticed! We are everywhere.”
Currently, 12 out of 32 states in Mexico have legalized abortion up to 12 weeks according to Mexico News Daily. The outlet further reported that state laws have been far behind the 2021 Supreme Court federal ruling, which decided that criminalizing abortion is unconstitutional, implying that there is reason to believe that this could happen with the newest decision.