Mexico

BACKGROUND

Although efforts were made during the 1980s to liberalize abortion, the Mexican
Criminal Code for the Federal District (Decree of 2 January 1931, as amended)
remains in force. It applies to offences committed in the Federal District of Mexico
and to all offences that fall within the jurisdiction of the Federal Courts throughout
Mexico. Other offences are governed by the provisions of state criminal codes.
Under Articles 329-334 of the Code of the Federal District, the performance of
abortions is illegal except when caused by the negligence of the pregnant woman
during pregnancy, when the pregnancy is the result of rape, or when the continuation
of the pregnancy endangers the life of the pregnant woman. Before performing an
abortion to save the life of a pregnant woman, a physician must obtain the opinion of
another physician unless there is a danger in delay. In 1976, the Federal Ministry of
Public Health issued regulations that expressly prohibit qualified lay birth attendants
from inducing an abortion.
Articles 320-332 of the Code set out varying degrees of punishment for the illegal
performance of abortion. They provide that any person performing an abortion with
the consent of the woman is subject to one to three years imprisonment and without
her consent, to three to six years imprisonment. If the abortion is brought about by
physical or moral violence, the person performing it is subject to six to eight years
imprisonment. In addition to these penalties, a physician, surgeon, or midwife who
performs an illegal abortion is subject to two to five years suspension from
exercising his or her profession.
A woman who willfully induces her own abortion or consents to its being induced is
subject to one to five years imprisonment. However, if she is a woman of good
reputation, she has hidden her pregnancy and the pregnancy is the result of
illegitimate relations, the term of imprisonment is reduced to six months to a year.
Many of the abortion provisions of the state criminal codes are nearly identical to
those of the Criminal Code of the Federal District. However, some states have more
liberal abortion provisions. For example, in addition to the permitted grounds for
abortion enumerated in the Criminal Code of the Federal District, certain states allow
abortions to be performed for the following reasons: when the pregnancy results
from artificial insemination neither requested nor assented to by the woman,
provided that the abortion is carried out within the first 90 days of pregnancy (article
219 of the Criminal Code of Chihuahua, 18 February 1987); when there is good
reason to believe that the unborn child will suffer from severe physical or mental
disabilities of genetic or congenital origin (article 293 of the Criminal Code of

Source: The Population Policy Data Bank maintained by the Population Division of the Department for Economic and Social Affairs of the
United Nations Secretariat. For additional sources, see list of references.

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