The decriminalization of abortion advances in the Congress of Puebla, Mexico

The discussion on the decriminalization of abortion has taken a new direction in the Mexican state of Puebla, with the approval of a ruling in the local Congress that seeks to decriminalize abortion on demand up to 12 weeks of gestation.

According to the legislative proposal, It seeks to “protect and guarantee the sexual and reproductive rights of women and pregnant people, and their right to decide without facing criminal consequences.”

This Friday, July 12, the Justice Procurement and Administration Commission of the Congress of the State of Puebla approved the opinion, which united two projects promoted by the parliamentary groups of the Labor Party (PT) and the National Regeneration Movement (Morena), the political group of the current president of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, and his successor, the elected president Claudia Sheinbaum.

With this vote, the ruling seeking the decriminalization of abortion will go to the plenary session of the Congress of Puebla – where Morena and its allies have a majority – which could discuss and vote on the issue on Monday, July 15.

What does the ruling say about abortion that will be debated by the plenary session of the Puebla Congress?

According to the legislative proposal, five articles of the Penal Code would be reformed, to establish in section 339 that “whoever terminates the pregnancy after the twelfth week of gestation commits the crime of abortion.”

On the other hand, article 340 would consider a penalty of six months to one year in prison for “the woman or pregnant person who voluntarily procures her abortion or consents to another having her aborted after 12 weeks of pregnancy,” and between one and three years in prison for anyone who helps you perform the abortion.

The project proposes that articles 341 and 342 incorporate prison sentences for anyone who helps carry out a “forced abortion,” as well as for the doctors who perform it.

343 would indicate that there would be no sanction in the event that “the pregnancy is the result of rape or non-consensual artificial insemination”, or in the event that “in the opinion of a specialist doctor there is sufficient reason to diagnose that “The product has genetic or congenital alterations that may result in physical or mental damage,” among other reasons.

Pro-life groups ask the governor to veto the law

The Red Familia platform called on the newly elected governor of Puebla on June 2, Alejandro Armenta, to promote “reforms to the Penal Code, nor to pressure the local deputies of Morena to approve abortion in the state, without him being stained.” hands”.

In a statementMario Romo, national leader of the institution, accused Armenta of having “issued instructions and pressured the Morena deputies so that before the end of the current legislature they approve in committees and in the plenary session of Congress the decriminalization of abortion,” with the objective of avoiding a political cost when he takes office.

Romo assured that “being in favor of women is being in favor of life,” and added: “it is not possible to conceive of being in favor of women and all the policies that are applied (…) but not respecting what “The most basic thing is your life and well-being.”

“Let us remember that abortion does not free a woman from pregnancy, it turns her into the mother of a dead daughter or son,” he said.

The Red Familia statement cites the National Survey on the Dynamics of Household Relationships (ENDIREH), carried out by the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI) in 2021, that reveals that 70.8% of women aged 15 years or older in Puebla have experienced some type of violence, whether psychological, physical, sexual, economic or patrimonial. According to Romo, “approving abortion encourages psychological and physical violence against women.”

In addition, the leader of Red Familia mentioned a study by Melisa Institutee from Chile, titled Public Policies Based on Scientific Evidencepublished in 2015, that analyzes the determinants of maternal mortality in Puebla, and shows that the state occupies 18th place in the national ranking of maternal health, with an average of 44.5 deaths per 100 thousand live births.

“That is to say, there is no quality in the medical care services, they are insufficient and neither is the professional quality of the medical staff of the state health system,” Romo denounced.

Romo demanded that the Armenta government fulfill its campaign promises and offer “true solutions on issues of importance to the women of Puebla in terms of security, health and job creation and not on clever initiatives that threaten the lives of girls and women. children who are in their mother’s womb.”

The Actívate platform has gathered more than 3,800 signatures through a campaign that seeks to “demonstrate” citizen rejection “of the decriminalization of abortion in Puebla.”