Quintana Roo became the eleventh of Mexico's 32 states to legalize voluntary abortion​​

Mexico City, October 27 (RHC)-- With 19 votes in favor, three against and four abstentions, the Congress of the Mexican state of Quintana Roo approved the decriminalization of abortion.   Quintana Roo thus became the eleventh of Mexico's 32 states to legalize voluntary abortion up to 12 weeks of gestation.

The initiative decriminalizes abortion for women up to 12 weeks of pregnancy and removes the requirement for rape victims to denounce their aggressor to access treatment.

This decriminalization guarantees "the human right to freedom, public health and free development of personality, which are inherent to the human conviction of all persons," Congressman Humberto Aldana Navarro said.

The Feminist Network of Quintana Roo said via Twitter: "The struggle is bearing fruit."  "We will insist that abortion is not only legal, but also free and safe." 

"There will no longer be a custodial sentence or they will no longer apply a corporal punishment, they will not go to jail, this, in correlation with the principles and criteria of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation," Ariadne Song Anguas founder of the Feminist Network of Quintana Roo.

In 2021, the Mexican Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the criminalization of abortion was unconstitutional. Since then, only 11 of Mexico's 32 states have adapted their laws.

The Supreme Court approved on May 25 a constitutional rule allowing voluntary termination of pregnancy for minors between 12 and 17 years old who are victims of rape without parental consent or the requirement of a court order.

After today's vote that enacted the approval of abortion, Congressman Hugo Alday said the state was obliged to reform its laws in accordance with social dynamics and the federal pact.