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 The decision in the world's second-biggest Roman Catholic country
means that courts can no longer prosecute abortion cases, and
follows the historic legalization of the right in Argentina, which
took effect earlier this year.
Arturo Zaldivar, president of the Mexican Supreme Court, hailed the
decision as "a watershed moment" for all women, especially the most
vulnerable.
The vote by the 10 judges present stemmed from a 2018 case
challenging a criminal law on abortion in Coahuila, a northern
Mexican state which borders Texas, which has just tightened its
laws.
It also comes as a growing feminist movement has taken to the
streets in Mexico to press for change, including calls to end
anti-abortion laws on the books in much of the country.
At a demonstration in Coahuila state capital Saltillo, women wearing
green bandanas to symbolize the pro-choice movement embraced and
shouted "abortion is no longer a crime!"
"We're very happy that abortion has been decriminalized, and now we
want it to be legal," said 26-year-old Karla Cihuatl, one of the
demonstrators, who belongs to the feminist organization Frente
Feminista in Saltillo.
"This step has broken the stigma a little. But I believe that we
still have to change the social aspect."
With some 100 million Catholics, Mexico is the largest predominantly
Catholic country after Brazil. The Catholic Church opposes all forms
of abortion procedures.
Hundreds of mostly poor Mexican women have been prosecuted for
abortion, while at least several dozen remain jailed.
Tuesday's vote establishes a mandatory criteria for all judges in
the country, making it no longer possible to prosecute any woman who
has an abortion without violating the criteria of the court and the
constitution, Zaldivar said.
Coahuila's state government issued a statement saying the ruling
would have retroactive effects and that any woman imprisoned for
abortion should be released "immediately."
A number of U.S. states have moved to restrict access to abortion,
particularly Texas, which last week enacted a sweeping ban on the
procedure after the first six weeks of pregnancy when the U.S.
Supreme Court declined to intervene.
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 The Mexican ruling may lead to
U.S. women in states such as Texas deciding to
travel south of the border to terminate their
pregnancies.
In July, the state of Veracruz
https://www.reuters.com/world/
americas/mexicos-veracruz-state-votes-allow-abortion-joining-three-other-regions-2021-07-20
became just the fourth of Mexico's 32 regions to
decriminalize abortion.
Mexico's leftist President Andres Manuel Lopez
Obrador has carefully avoided taking a stand on
the matter, as he did again on Tuesday morning
in the run-up to the ruling.
When asked at a news conference for his opinion
on abortion, he sidestepped the question, saying
it was up to the court.
"Due my presidential office, I can't expose myself to
wear and tear, so I have to look after myself, and this is quite a
controversial issue," he said.
During his winning 2018 election campaign, he forged an alliance
with a small political party founded by Christian conservatives
known for their strong opposition to abortion.
By contrast, Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard, who was mayor of
Mexico City when the capital legalized abortion in 2007, breaking
new ground for the country, celebrated the court ruling on Twitter
as a "great day for the rights of women."
"What advances there have been in progressive causes in our
country!!!" wrote Ebrard, one of the leading contenders to succeed
Lopez Obrador when his six-year term ends in 2024. "I'm really
delighted!!"
(Reporting by Lizbeth Diaz in Mexico City and Laura Gottesdiener in
Saltillo, Coahuila; Additional reporting by Dave Graham and David
Alire Garcia; Writing by Laura Gottesdiener; Editing by Sandra Maler)
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