Mexico City's Abortion Paradox: Legal Yet Still Criminalized After 19 Years

Nineteen Years After Decriminalizing Abortion Up to 12 Weeks in Mexico City, Experts Warn of Lingering Challenges

Nineteen years after Mexico City decriminalized abortion up to 12 weeks of pregnancy, specialists caution that significant obstacles remain in accessing this healthcare service—though they acknowledge the milestone as a transformative shift that reshaped the national conversation.

Angie Contreras, a spokesperson for the organization Mujeres Vivas, Mujeres Libres (Living Women, Free Women), stressed that one of the unresolved issues is the persistent failure to recognize abortion as "a matter of healthcare rights." This oversight complicates access for women and pregnant individuals, as many health facilities lack either the resources or non-conscientious objector staff to perform the procedures.

"The process is often cumbersome, bureaucratic, and slow, and information is not provided in a simple, clear, or non-stigmatizing way," she said.

"This is incredibly important, and of course, it should be celebrated—because decriminalizing abortion in Mexico City completely changed the narrative. It opened the door for us to discuss abortion as a healthcare issue for women, not as a crime," she emphasized.

Contreras noted that abortion remains in the Penal Code, meaning it is still classified as an offense. She argued that the next step for Mexico City must be to remove it from criminal law entirely, treating it instead as a public health matter.

She also highlighted the "social stigma" faced by women and pregnant individuals, particularly in outlying municipalities and peripheral areas of the capital.

"The fear of word getting out—of gossip spreading about their decision, about their process—is what many women want to avoid at all costs. That's why they often travel to distant health centers or seek support from feminist accompaniment networks, precisely to escape social criminalization and stigma. The ideal scenario is for every community, every borough, and every municipality to have accessible health centers, because that would also uphold the right to healthcare and public health services," she stressed.

Karla Vázquez, a legal scholar at UNAM's Faculty of Law, spoke to our website about the critical distinction between abortion—which remains a penal offense—and legal pregnancy termination (known by its Spanish acronym, ILE).

"The crime of abortion as defined in penal codes still exists across the board—whether in Mexico City, at the federal level, or in every state. What we celebrate is the legal interruption of pregnancy, which is a separate concept from the criminal offense of abortion," she explained.

Vázquez recalled that when legal pregnancy termination was first introduced, it emerged from "a debate fraught with ethical dilemmas."

She also addressed the role of conscientious objection among medical professionals, noting that some may refuse to participate in such procedures on ethical or personal grounds. "This creates a major hurdle: What happens to those who need a legal pregnancy termination? Medical schools must anticipate these challenges and clarify the differences between abortion as a crime and abortion as a legally protected healthcare service."