Mexican President Andres Manuel López Obrador speaks at a press conference in Mexico City.
Photo: President of Mexico/AFP
Mexican President Andres Manuel López Obrador said on Wednesday that a landmark Supreme Court ruling must be respected that women should not be punished for abortion.
Lopez Obrador avoided expressing personal opinions on the division of this conservative, Catholic-majority Latin American country.
He said at a daily press conference that the Supreme Court declared that it was unconstitutional to criminalize abortion on Tuesday and “must be respected.”
“As far as I am concerned, we shouldn’t choose sides,” he added.
Read also | What the Texas abortion decision says to the Supreme Court
In Mexico City and three other states, abortion is legal in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, while the criminal laws of other states only allow abortion in rape cases.
The Supreme Court’s ruling made abortion rights activists happy, but it made anti-abortion activists frustrated.
Previously, the criminal law of the northern state of Coahuila was challenged by the constitution, and women who had abortions in the state previously faced up to three years in prison.
Experts say the ruling will affect the entire Mexico, allowing women in states that criminalize abortion to undergo abortion procedures on the order of a judge.
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