Mexico’s Supreme Court rules that abortion is not a crime

By MARÍA VERZA
Associated Press

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s Supreme Court has ruled that it is unconstitutional to punish abortion. The court on Tuesday unanimously annulled several provisions of a state law from Coahuila that had made abortion a criminal act. The decision immediately affects only that state on the Texas border, but court President Arturo Zaldívar says it establishes “obligatory criteria for all of the country’s judges,” compelling them to act the same way in similar cases. Only four Mexican states — Mexico City, Oaxaca, Veracruz and Hidalgo — allow abortion in most circumstances. The other 28 states penalize abortion with some exceptions.