CIVICUS speaks with Alba Adriana Jiménez Patlán, director of the Network for Sexual and Reproductive Rights in Mexico (ddeser), about the historic ruling of the Mexican Supreme Court decriminalising abortion at the federal level.
Ddeser is a citizen network of women and young activists that disseminates information and defends, demands and monitors respect for sexual and reproductive rights in Mexico.
What is the current state of abortion rights in Mexico?
There are many shades of grey. To date, voluntary termination of pregnancy up to the 12th week of gestation, without the need to provide reasons, is legal in 12 of Mexico's 32 states. It is therefore necessary both to continue to push for decriminalisation in the 20 remaining states and to enable access to abortion services throughout Mexico. To really work for women, laws have to be implemented. Decriminalisation is a great first step, but it is still important to act to counter the denial of effective access to services.
What impact will the recent Supreme Court ruling have?
The ruling issued by the Supreme Court on 30 August, in response to an amparo appeal – a writ for protection of rights – filed by a civil society organisation (CSO), is very important. In the past, when cases like this came before the Court, we were always silenced with the excuse that states are sovereign to make decisions on these issues. But the Supreme Court has changed a lot in the last decade, and the decriminalisation of abortion through the courts in the state of Coahuila, and then in Aguascalientes, opened the way for the decriminalisation of abortion at the federal level.
As a result of this ruling, the women who have abortions and those who accompany them will no longer be criminalised throughout Mexico. Accompaniment is central to the work of civil society, and includes the provision of information, as well as reviewing and monitoring access to abortion-related services.
While the Supreme Court ruling does not resolve the issue of access to abortion services, which is often denied in states where abortion had already been decriminalised, it serves as a reminder that both the Mexican Institute of Social Security and the Institute of Security and Social Services for State Workers must provide the service without restrictions. Those of us who do accompaniment work have an essential role to play in verifying that when women turn to public health institutions they are actually taken care of.
Do you view this court ruling as a victory for the Mexican women's movement?
The decriminalisation of abortion is a huge collective achievement for the Mexican feminist movement, which operates in a highly networked way in multiple areas and ranges from those of us who provide information and create spaces for debate to the lawyers who draft bills in favour of women's rights.
But we must remember that legal, free and safe abortion is not a recent demand. It did not begin with the green tide, the regional movement that started in Argentina and gained momentum in the mid-2010s. It is an issue that the feminist movement has been pushing for since at least the 1970s, when feminists in academia and trade unions advocated for the decriminalisation of abortion and teachers and nurses demanded comprehensive sex education for public school students. Numerous activists and organisations preceded us in this struggle and paved the way for us to finally achieve the goal of free, safe and legal abortion.
Advocacy and community work have made the difference in this struggle. As an organisation we have contributed by providing information on the grounds for legal abortion and linking institutions so that other specialised organisations can train doctors and nurses to ensure the service is provided.
How does your organisation work to promote abortion rights?
We are present in 12 states across Mexico, and we are mainly involved in information distribution and networking. We provide information to women in parks, schools, streets and door-to-door, in Indigenous communities, rural areas and urban peripheries. We let women know that abortion exists and is an option. We also promote women's networks across the country to facilitate access to safe medication abortion.
We network with healthcare providers and other CSOs, such as Ipas and the Public Policy Advocacy Coordinator at Information Group on Reproductive Choice, to increase the impact of our work for Mexican women's rights.
Are you experiencing anti-rights backlash?
The situation varies from state to state. One state we need to pay special attention to is Aguascalientes, a highly conservative state that has a very conservative governor who may try to deny access to services.
Efforts by conservative forces to limit abortion rights and comprehensive sex education could result in regression. We must understand that the personal really is political, and that the enjoyment of the basic right to make decisions about our own bodies and lives depends on our political choices. Many people, especially young people, think that politics is not important, but the decision on whether to leave government offices and legislative seats in the hands of the far right has huge impacts on all aspects of our lives.
How do you connect with women's movements in other countries in the region?
Our movement is part of a broader movement that encompasses all of Latin America and the Caribbean. The green tide has been an inspiration for the whole region, and has reached the USA. The tide has already become a tsunami that won’t stop, and we feel deeply identified with it.
This regional dimension also involves a lot of work, because we do everything in our power to contribute to progress in other countries in the region. For example, decriminalisation initiatives have been submitted in Brazil and there we have been signing letters, sending videos and making statements. In Argentina we did the same things: some of us travelled there to talk to legislators about the Mexican reality regarding abortion. One of our major points of reference was and still is Colombia. Sixteen years ago we went to Colombia to see how abortion services were provided so they could be replicated in Mexico City.
We are deeply engaged with what is happening with our colleagues in Central America, where abortion is extremely criminalised. We worked intensely to achieve the decriminalisation of abortion and effective access to this right in Mexico and across the region.
Civic space in Mexico is rated ‘repressed’ by the CIVICUS Monitor.
Get in touch with ddser through its website.