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A Resounding Victory In the Mexican Supreme Court! |
Dear friends,
We have just returned from a very emotional final vote in the full session of the Supreme Court, where eight of 11 justices declared the Mexico City law constitutional! We
are absolutely thrilled! On this monumental day in Mexican history, we
want our supporters to be the first to know about the triumph, in which
the Pro-Choice Alliance undeniably played a role.
A large number of the justices based their votes on the concept that
although the right to life is protected in the constitution, it does
not supersede other human rights, including a woman’s rights to life,
health protection, equality, freedom from discrimination,
self-determination, sexual and reproductive freedom, bodily integrity,
and privacy. Several justices mentioned the social aspects of abortion,
but the strongest arguments were those based strictly on the Mexican
constitution and law.
Two of the justices who voted against the law’s constitutionality made
infuriatingly misogynistic remarks during their arguments. The Chief
Justice based his arguments on the claim that women have access to
contraception; implying that those who face unwanted pregnancy have no
one to blame but themselves. At one point, he stated that forced
maternity does not exist. Another claimed that pregnancy and motherhood
is only a “light” imposition on women!
The legal importance of this decision cannot be underestimated,
especially given the proportion of the majority. As we wrote yesterday,
four votes would have meant that the law is not unconstitutional. Six
votes guaranteed the law’s constitutionality. Although eight votes were
secured, legal jurisprudence was not established given a technicality
in one justice’s vote.
These legal subtleties will be extremely important as we move into the
Mexican states to expand abortion rights. With this vote, there is no
constitutional reason for Mexican states not to include the
decriminalization of abortion in their penal codes. In fact, the
Supreme Court validated local congresses’ legitimacy to do so. We will
carry out an in-depth legal analysis of the ruling’s implications to
inform our upcoming work and we will also analyze it further when the
official sentence is released in a few weeks.
Much work remains to be done. We are galvanized by this strong legal
recognition of women’s human rights to life and health by the highest
court in the nation, and are ready for the fight that awaits us to
ensure this right for all Mexican women. We know, and want you to know
as well, that this would not have been possible without the Alliance,
and the Alliance would not exist without strong donor backing. Thank
you for your invaluable past and present support. It is bearing
wonderful fruit!
Today is truly a dream come true; one that we and thousands of Mexican women have waited years and even decades for.
In resounding victory!
María Consuelo Mejía, María Eugencia Romero, María Luisa Sánchez
Fuentes, Raffaela Schiavon, Sandy García, Gillian Fawcett, Emily
Barcklow, Jennifer Paine, Elsa Pérez, Sandy Poire and the rest of the
staff at the Pro-Choice Alliance organizations
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