Activists perform a performance with a piñata in front of the Mexico City Congress to demand that abortion be eliminated from the Penal Code.
Although the CDMX decriminalized abortion 19 years ago, and it is recognized as a health service, it is still considered a crime under criminal law.
On the 19th anniversary of the partial decriminalization of abortion in the CDMX, feminist organizations, collectives and activists gathered in front of the City Congress to commemorate this milestone, and at the same time demand that abortion be definitively eliminated from the state Penal Code. Among the participating organizations were: Abortion Data, Antígona, Balance, Cerrucha, Ddeser, Equidad de Género, Fondo MARIA, GIRE, Instituto de Liderazgo Simone de Beauvoir, Ipas LAC, Luchadoras, Médicos del Mundo, Michis Aborteros, REDefine CDMX and Vivas y Libres.
Mexico City was a pioneer in 2007 by allowing access to abortion during the first twelve weeks of gestation, marking a before and after in the recognition of reproductive rights in the country. This progress has allowed thousands of women, girls, adolescents and people with gestational capacity to access legal abortion services, demonstrating its relevance as a public health policy.
However, after almost two decades of this reform, abortion is still classified as a crime in the Penal Code of Mexico City, which reflects a legal contradiction and perpetuates the stigma and criminalization: from 2015 to February 2026, the CDMX has led the number of files and preliminary investigations on abortion, with a total of 1,587 (crime incidence data from the Executive Secretariat of the National Public Security System).
In this context, activists carried out a symbolic action in front of the Mexico City Congress, where they broke a piñata in the shape of the Penal Code. The gesture celebrated 19 years of legal abortion and, at the same time, demanded the elimination of the crime of abortion from criminal legislation in the CDMX and throughout the country.
The organizations pointed out that abortion should not continue to be treated as a criminal matter, but as what it is: a health service and a right that should be fully guaranteed, without ambiguities or legal frameworks that criminalize it.
They also made a public call to the deputies of the Congress of Mexico City to address this historic pending issue and to carry out the necessary reform to eliminate abortion from the Penal Code, in accordance with the advances in reproductive rights and constitutional standards.
Nineteen years after decriminalization, the CDMX has the opportunity to consolidate itself once again as a reference in the region, moving towards a legal framework that fully recognizes the right to decide and leaves behind the use of criminal law to regulate it.
The organizations reiterated that the struggle for reproductive autonomy continues and that guaranteeing access to abortion as a health service, free of stigma and criminalization, remains a priority.