The Quickie: Mexico's Historic Abortion Ban Reversal
For Immediate Release: Sept. 7, 2023
Welcome to “The Quickie” — Planned Parenthood Action Fund’s daily tipsheet on the top health care & reproductive rights stories of the day. You can read “The Quickie'' online here.
In today’s Quickie: Mexico strikes down abortion ban, abortion numbers rise in states with access, and MI legislators introduce the Reproductive Freedom Act.
MEXICO’S HISTORIC ABORTION BAN REVERSAL: In a momentous decision, Mexico's Supreme Court has struck down federal criminal penalties against abortion, deeming the existing ban unconstitutional. The Court's ruling, a culmination of a legal battle spanning several years, is grounded in the principle that the ban infringes upon the fundamental human rights of women and individuals with the capacity to gestate. This milestone follows the recent trend of decriminalizing abortion in various Mexican states, with the most recent ruling in Aguascalientes just days ago.
This sweeping decision carries significant implications. It effectively means that no woman, pregnant person, or healthcare worker can face legal repercussions for seeking or providing abortion services. Moreover, the ruling mandates that federal public health services and institutions must offer abortion services to those who request them, marking a transformative shift in reproductive healthcare access.
GIRE, a prominent reproductive rights organization in Mexico City, has affirmed that the portion of the federal penal code criminalizing abortion no longer holds any effect.
This historic decision is part of a broader "green wave" across Latin America, where countries are progressively lifting abortion restrictions.
More from The New York Times.
RESEARCH FINDS THAT ABORTIONS ROSE IN MOST STATES WITH INCREASED ABORTION ACCESS: In its Monthly Abortion Provision Study, The Guttmacher Institute found that there was an uptick in abortions nationwide in the first half of this year compared to 2020, likely due in large part to states that protected abortion access absorbing patients from states with bans, and increased access to medication abortion via telehealth.
The research suggests that states who have abortion access that border states with bans experienced the highest increase in abortions. In Illinois, that increase was nearly 70% between 2020 and 2023. Other states that border restrictive states saw a jump as well, including Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico and South Carolina. States with the most restrictive laws, including Arizona, Georgia and Indiana, saw a drop in abortions. Despite the increase in abortions generally, the researchers pointed out the impact that these patchwork laws have had on access.
“Travel doesn’t come without a cost,” said Isaac Maddow-Zimet, a data scientist at the Guttmacher Institute and the lead researcher on the institute’s report, told The New York Times. “Just because someone isn’t denied an abortion doesn’t mean it was an easy experience. And we know that some can’t leave their state.”
Read more in The New York Times.
MICHIGAN LEGISLATORS INTRODUCE REPRODUCTIVE FREEDOM ACT, PAVING THE WAY FOR REPRODUCTIVE FREEDOM AND REPEALING MEDICALLY-UNNECESSARY ABORTION RESTRICTIONS: Yesterday, Planned Parenthood advocates in Michigan joined lawmakers to introduce the Reproductive Health Act, legislation that would repeal many of the medically-unnecessary restrictions that have limited abortion access and reproductive freedom in the state. This effort comes after voters in Michigan passed Proposal 3 last year, protecting reproductive freedom in the state constitution.
In a roundtable discussion as the legislation was introduced, Dr. Sarah Wallett, chief medical operating officer and Paula Thornton Greear, the president and CEO at Planned Parenthood of Michigan highlighted what these changes could mean for patients, and what the current restrictions have meant for patients:
“Think about what that does for an individual who wakes up, who’s coming from across Michigan, who’s coming from the U.P., maybe coming from a state where abortion is banned. They get here. And they can’t have their healthcare needs met,” Greear explained.
Read more about this legislation from Michigan Radio here.