Questions about abortion

How Has Abortion Evolved in Mexico?

The debate around the decriminalization of abortion in Mexico began in 1936, following the enactment of the Criminal Code in 1931. Nearly ninety years after feminists first called for decriminalized abortion, progress in terms of legal frameworks and public policy remains lacking. Currently, three quarters of Mexico’s federal entities have decriminalized abortion during (at least) a period close to the beginning of pregnancy.

It is remarkable and historically significant that Guerrero was the first state to completely decriminalize abortion for women and other pregnant people. However, this state criminalizes the practice after the twelfth week of pregnancy for those who assist the procedure. On October 10, 2024, the Criminal Code of Michoacán adopted the same framework, while Sinaloa remains the only state that has decriminalized this practice up to the thirteenth week of pregnancy.

Beginning in 2022, GIRE, together with other local civil society organizations, launched a strategy to file constitutional protection lawsuits (amparos) against the criminal codes of the federal entities in which abortion continued to be criminalized without exception. In Aguascalientes, decriminalization via judicial means was the result of an amparo lawsuit filed by CECADEC, TERFU A. C., Cultivando Género A. C., Morras Help Morras, and GIRE. When ruling on the case in August 2023, the First Chamber of the SCJN determined that the statutory provisions that criminalized consensual and self-induced abortion in the state were unconstitutional. In terms of reproductive justice, the victory in Aguascalientes was particularly significant, as it marked the first time that the effects of an amparo lawsuit filed by civil society organizations were general in scope. This ruling benefited all women and people with the capacity to gestate living in the state. On December 14, 2023, the state Congress approved the decriminalization of abortion up to the twelfth week of pregnancy.

Unfortunately, in August 2024 the state congress of Aguascalientes reduced the time limit for voluntarily terminating a pregnancy to only six weeks, a setback in terms of both human and reproductive rights. This reduction is in fact a disguised ban, since for most people this period is not sufficient to realize that they are pregnant. Moreover, it is a limitation that contradicts what the Supreme Court has previously determined with regard to the fact that the minimum reasonable time limit for decriminalizing voluntary abortion is twelve weeks of pregnancy. In addition, WHO recommendations discourage restrictions based on gestational time limits, as they lack scientific grounds. Reducing the time limit for abortion to six weeks therefore represents an obstacle to accessing the service, as it is practically impossible for most people to comply with.

At the federal level, GIRE filed an amparo lawsuit against the Congress of the Union and the Federal Executive for issuing a regulation in the Federal Criminal Code criminalizing abortion. When ruling on this case in September 2023, the First Chamber of the SCJN unanimously determined that the articles of the Federal Criminal Code that criminalized abortion were unconstitutional and therefore ordered the Congress of the Union to repeal the crime of abortion at the federal level. As a result of this ruling, no woman or pregnant person may be criminalized for having an abortion, and the same applies to health care personnel or any person who assists them. In addition, federal health institutions, such as the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS, for its Spanish initials) and the Institute for Social Security and Services for State Workers (ISSSTE), must provide abortion services upon request. As of this site’s last update, congressional reform remains pending.

Since 2024, further achievements have been attained through the national legal strategy promoted by GIRE. Collegiate courts in Jalisco, Nayarit, Zacatecas (in 2024) and Durango (in 2025) unanimously declared that the articles in the criminal codes of their respective states that enforced the criminalization of abortion without exception were unconstitutional. Moreover, they ordered state congresses to strike from their criminal codes the crime of self-induced and consensual abortion. These decisions are historically significant, as they constitute the first final rulings by collegiate courts in this matter. In Yucatán, the Supreme Court reiterated the criteria established in previous rulings and ordered the state congress to repeal the articles of the state’s Criminal Code that criminalized self-induced and consensual abortions without exception. A district court in Morelos issued a ruling to the same effect. In compliance with these rulings, Jalisco and Zacatecas decriminalized abortion up to 12.6 weeks of pregnancy in 2024, while Nayarit and Yucatán did so in 2025. The congresses of Morelos and Durango have yet to comply with the orders issued.

Likewise, in ruling on Action of Unconstitutionality 89/2024, the Supreme Court removed various barriers to accessing reproductive health care services in Tlaxcala. Although the action was aimed at challenging the state’s Health Law, the Court also declared invalid—on the grounds that it formed part of the same regulatory framework—the provision of the Tlaxcala Criminal Code that criminalized self-induced and consensual abortion. Additionally, it granted retroactive effects in favor of individuals who had already been prosecuted or sentenced for that offense. This ruling was significant because it established limits on state laws that seek to impose procedures, permits, or punitive controls on access to these services.

On January 30, 2025, through General Declaration of Unconstitutionality 01/2024, the Supreme Court declared invalid, with general effects, the articles that established the prohibition of abortion without exception in the Criminal Code of Chihuahua. Resultingly, users of abortion services and those who assist them may no longer be penalized in that state. In addition, as part of GIRE’s national legal strategy, in April 2025 a collegiate court in Tabasco ruled on an amparo lawsuit in review and ordered the state Congress to repeal the articles that criminalize abortion without exception in that state. On 14 May of that year, in compliance with the ruling, the Tabasco Congress approved amendments to the state’s Penal Code.

Moreover, some federal entities, in addition to reforming their criminal codes, have also amended their health laws to include legal abortion services. This is the case in Baja California, Baja California Sur, Mexico City, Colima, Guerrero, Hidalgo, Michoacán, Oaxaca, San Luis Potosí, Sinaloa, and Zacatecas. Other entities have developed public policies related to access to safe abortion, including Mexico City, Guerrero, Jalisco, Michoacán, Oaxaca, and Veracruz. These health reforms contribute to ensuring that all women and people with the capacity to gestate have access to safe, high-quality, and comprehensive abortion information and services upon request.

Additionally, on January 23, 2025, the Official Gazette of the Federation (DOF) published an agreement issued by ISSSTE’s Director General, which guarantees the implementation of the Legal Termination of Pregnancy (LTP) procedure. ISSSTE is Mexico’s third largest public health care service provider (after IMSS and IMSS-Bienestar, based on the number of people it serves) and it will now guarantee access to voluntary abortion to any rightful claimant who requests it, regardless of the reasons for seeking an abortion, in accordance with the regulations of each federal entity.

In March 2026, the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS) also issued the Technical Guidelines for Legal Abortion, launched a WhatsApp chatbot (55 4595 0448) to provide information and support, and added a filter to its facility directory to help users locate health units that provide legal abortion services. These measures further institutionalize abortion as a healthcare service. Their significance lies in their potential reach: according to the 2023 National Survey of Demographic Dynamics (ENADID), 26,021,535 women in Mexico are enrolled in the ordinary IMSS regime (61.3% of all women affiliated with a health service), of whom 13,082,384 are of reproductive age.

Finally, on February 25, 2025, the Supreme Court ruled on a contradiction of criteria regarding access to safe abortion care. In doing so, it was required to determine whether the Mexican state is obligated to guarantee abortion services as part of the right to health. After analyzing the matter, the Court held that access to the right to health is indispensable for making decisions about one’s reproductive life and must therefore be protected without discrimination, ensuring that all people have access to it. Accordingly, in line with what had already been established in the Coahuila ruling, the Court reiterated the obligation of state health authorities to implement, disseminate, and organize health services in order to guarantee access to voluntary abortion.

On 20 April 2026, the SCJN ruled on Contradiction of Criteria 125/2025, concerning the effects of amparo rulings in abortion cases. The Court held that, in these proceedings, courts may order authorities to implement and publicize voluntary abortion services. It reasoned that such rulings may have broader effects than simply benefiting the individuals who filed the claim, as their purpose is to remove structural barriers to the exercise of reproductive rights. In doing so, the Court reinforced the state’s obligation to guarantee these services and confirmed that amparo lawsuits can serve as a tool for advancing institutional change in reproductive healthcare. The full
opinion has not yet been published.

In conclusion, it is worth emphasizing that regulations that partially decriminalize abortion (for a
limited number of weeks of pregnancy and/or under specific grounds) can be confusing for health care personnel, who in many cases, instead of providing immediate medical care to women and other pregnant people experiencing complications related to abortion, report them to authorities. Moreover, guaranteeing access to abortion services requires more than recognizing their legality. It also requires addressing the structural shortcomings of the healthcare system that hinder service provision—including insufficient funding, limited availability of medications, and a shortage of trained healthcare personnel. At the same time, it is important to recognize that the legislative, judicial, and healthcare advances achieved in recent years in Mexico reflect a broader transformation in the way abortion is understood. Increasingly, abortion is no longer viewed as a crime but recognized as a healthcare service closely linked to reproductive autonomy. This shift helps strengthen the conditions necessary to ensure effective access to abortion services.