But the shockwaves sent across the region by the court’s abortion ruling will be felt for years to come.
One women’s right leader consulted by CNN says the unanimous ruling, which found penalizing abortion to be unconstitutional, could make Mexico a destination for women from the US — where abortion was recently strictly limited in Texas — and even a model for other countries in Latin America, a region that has not historically been friendly to women seeking abortion.
Mexico’s highest court had been asked to consider a law enacted in the northern state of Coahuila, which said that women who get an abortion may be punished with up to three years in prison and a fine.
In a unanimous vote, the court declared the local law unconstitutional, a ruling that doesn’t automatically legalize abortion in the country, according to analysts consulted by CNN. Pending cases must still be heard at the local level and laws restricting abortion in states across Mexico are still on the books.
However,…
