An anti-abortion activist places an image of Our Lady of Guadalupe alongside mock coffins at the entrance to the Supreme Court to celebrate the court's decision against an injunction aimed to decriminalize more abortions, in Mexico City, July 29, 2020.
Mexico's Supreme Court has rejected an injunction that could have decriminalized abortions in the Gulf State of Veracruz, in the mostly Conservative Catholic country.
The Supreme Court judges voted Wednesday 4-1 against removing articles from the criminal code concerning abortion in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, saying the Veracruz Legislature did not fail to act on the federal government’s instruction because there was already law on the subject.
Activist Pascale Brennan, who favors legalized abortion, said the majority of judges based their decision on technical issues with the order rather than on the issue of abortion itself.
Brennan said he and others favoring abortions will continue their pursuit of legalized abortions in Veracruz, where the procedure is now only allowed in the case of rape, with a police report verification and only within 90 days.
Just two of Mexico's 32 states allow for legalized abortion, Oaxaca and Mexico City.