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Legal Abortion – Nuevo León

In Nuevo León, abortion is a legal health service. You have the right to a safe abortion, and the law protects you.

Nuevo León is one of the eight states in Mexico that have not yet reformed their laws to allow abortion upon simple request by the pregnant person, at at least during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy.

However, state law provides for three grounds that allow access to a legal and safe abortion, without penalties and without it being considered a crime, regardless of the number of weeks of pregnancy.

Keep in mind that there are three ways to access an abortion:

1. In the public health services of Nuevo León
2. self-managing your procedure with medications
3. With a network of companions from your organization
Since abortion is a right in Nuevo León, abortion services must be provided just like any other sexual and reproductive health service: under conditions that ensure quality, safety, and respect for girls, adolescents, and people capable of becoming pregnant—whether or not they are enrolled in the public health system—with privacy and confidentiality guaranteed.

What is legal termination of pregnancy?

LLegal termination of pregnancy (ILE) is a human rights issue. It allows people to exercise their right to freely decide whether to continue a pregnancy during the early stages of gestation.

States such as Mexico City, Oaxaca, Hidalgo, Veracruz, Baja California, Colima, Sinaloa, Guerrero, Baja California Sur, Quintana Roo, Aguascalientes, Puebla, Jalisco, Michoacán, San Luis Potosí, Chiapas, Zacatecas, the State of Mexico, Nayarit, Campeche, Yucatán, and Tabasco have amended their laws to ensure respect for this right.  In addition, the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN) has ruled that criminalizing abortion in Coahuila and Chihuahua is unconstitutional, finding these restrictions to be contrary to human rights. (SCJN, 2021 and 2025)

This right cannot be restricted by local provisions, such as those in Nuevo León, because the obligation to implement, promote, and organize health services to ensure effective access to ILE is based on the rights recognized by the Constitution and international treaties, the obligations set forth in the General Health Law, and the precedents established by the SCJN. (SCJN, 2025)

EIn Nuevo León, there are three circumstances or grounds for legal abortion

Grounds are specific situations in which the law allows individuals to request a safe abortion procedure, regardless of gestational age. In these cases, health services and their personnel must support them in identifying and facilitating their care, without increasing the requirements indicated in the law or imposing obstacles or barriers to their access.

Learn about all the grounds for abortion in the state and the requirements for accessing them:

When pregnancy is the result of rape

Read more

When the woman’s or pregnant woman’s life is in danger

Read more

When pregnancy puts the pregnant person’s health (physical, mental, or social) at risk

Read more
These grounds refer to situations in which pregnant individuals may request a safe abortion procedure. In these cases, health care facilities and their staff must support them in identifying and facilitating their care, without imposing additional requirements beyond those specified by law.

Health personnel are not obliged to report or denounce persons who seek abortion services or who have attempted to terminate their own pregnancies. On the contrary, they are responsible for safeguarding, under standards of confidentiality, the information they receive about the health status of individuals in the exercise of their profession.

Abortion is legal in Nuevo León.

In Nuevo León, abortion is a legal health service. You have the right to a safe abortion, and the law protects you.

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