A Closer Look at the Court Cases that Expanded Abortion Access in Mexico and Colombia

rePROs Fight Back

Since the start of the Green Wave movement, multiple countries across Latin America have liberalized their abortion laws. Ivonne Garza, Senior Associate at the O’Neill Institute for National Global Health Law at Georgetown University Law Center and Natialia Acevedo Guerrero, Senior Consultant with the Health and Human Rights Initiative at the O’Neill Institute, sit down to talk with us about recent court cases in Colombia and Mexico and how they have expanded access to abortion care across the region.

The Green Wave, a liberal feminist movement which started in Argentina, increased mobilization in 2020 to decriminalize and destigmatize abortion across multiple countries in Latin America. This social movement paved the way for leaders to take abortion considerations to the top courts and set the groundwork for judicial and legislative change.

In September 2021, three court cases changed the legal framework for abortion in the Federation of Mexico. The first case addressed the constitutionality of abortion regulations on states’ criminal codes and recognized the right to choose “without exception,” which includes abortion, sex education, family planning decision making, and more. The second case ruled that states were not allowed to regulate protections to the right to life that go beyond what the Mexican Constitution currently outlines. Lastly, the third case analyzed “conscientious objection” in the healthcare system and ruled it an individual right of medical personnel, but also that it could be limited to protect other fundamental rights.

In 2006, Colombia’s court referred to abortion in a favorable way. In this year, abortion was decriminalized in moments of when the pregnant person’s health and life at risk, pregnancy as a result of rape and incest, and when the fetus is incompatible with life. In 2022, the Colombian Court studied a new lawsuit that asked for the complete decriminalization of abortion in the country. Through four arguments, including 1) the proportionality of abortion criminalization; 2) the freedom and conscious of women and reproductive decisions; 3) the criminalization of abortion and the right to equality; and 4) the preventative purpose of criminal law, the Court concluded that the criminalization of abortion was in tension with the country’s affirmed right to health and reproductive rights.

Both countries provide an opportunity for U.S. advocates to learn. By studying the history of Mexican and Colombian Court decisions, U.S. leaders can take away elements related to discrimination, equality, intersectional approaches, and legal frameworks that may be helpful for the fight for abortion rights at home.

Links

O’Neill Institute on Twitter

O’Neill Institute on Facebook

The Green Wave: How Abortion Rights Are Spreading Through Latin America

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