On September 7, the Mexican Supreme Court struck down a law from the State of Coahuila which penalized having or performing an abortion with one to three years of prison. In doing so, it took a historic step: in a unanimous ruling, it proceeded to declare the criminalization of abortion in general to be unconstitutional. “Never again must a woman or a person capable of gestating be criminally judged,” said Justice Luís María Aguilar, author of the ruling. “Today the threat of prison and the stigma that weighs on people who freely decide to interrupt their pregnancy are removed.”

In their concurring opinions, other members of the court were surprisingly frank about the grounds for their decision. “[T]he reasons that lead a woman to abort, the conditions of secrecy and insalubrity some are forced into, the consequences for their physical and mental health . . .  produce unimaginable human suffering, especially for women who live in economic and social marginalization,” wrote the president of the court, Justice Arturo Zaldívar. “It is a crime that, in practice, punishes poverty.”

According to Justice Margarita Ríos-Farjat, an “excess of sophistry” has confused the real issue for women facing the decision of whether or not to terminate a pregnancy. “As she is ‘morally bad,’ she deserves to go to prison; if it’s not because she is bad or ignorant, then it’s because she was irresponsible or — as they say — she didn’t take care of herself,” she noted. “Because however much desperation or desolation she may feel, she has to hold out. Did she not? Then she’s promiscuous and irresponsible: prison . . . Nobody gets pregnant, in the use of her autonomy, only to then abort.”