- Forced abortion is punishable by between five and eight years in prison; If physical or moral violence is used, the sentence increases from eight to 10 years.
Voices against
Organizations such as Red Familia, Mujeres de México and Unión Mujer have spoken out publicly and even demonstrated on October 25 in front of the capital’s Congress.
“In 2007 it was legalized that a mother could take the life of her child even if it was small. Today, 17 years later, the congresswomen want to legalize that any child can be dismembered, dismembered and decapitated up to 15 minutes before birth if the mother does not want to take care of him or have him,” Rosario Laris, spokesperson for Women of Mexico, accused during a press conference on October 22.
For its part, the Free and Sovereign Women collective condemned the attempt to modify the Penal Code. “Accepting and promoting the complete decriminalization of abortion up to nine months of gestation threatens the lives of both women and unborn children, who, as Mexican men and women, have equal opportunities and rights,” he warned.
Pilar Vázquez Calva, spokesperson for the women’s group, stated that at the moment of fertilization of an egg by a sperm, the life of a new being begins with a unique and unrepeatable genetic code, different from that of the mother and father.
“Abortion at any time of pregnancy is the most serious form of violence against women since it places them in a situation of abandonment, family, social and economic helplessness, in addition to the fact that, in most cases, it protects and liberates the parent of his responsibility,” he said.
The representative of IPAS Latin America and the Caribbean considers these false accusations and maintains that the reform proposal for Mexico City implies removing what is a health service from the Penal Code.
“A woman who needs an abortion is going to get it no matter what, but criminalization means risking her life and her health. This initiative means nothing more and nothing less than removing abortion from the Penal Code to regulate it in other instruments,” says Díaz de León.
The director of GIRE points out that the proposed reform to eliminate this crime in Mexico City coincides with the rulings of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN) in declaring the criminalization of abortion unconstitutional, as well as the recommendation of the World Organization of Health (WHO) to move away from criminal law and serve from a public health perspective.
