Legal grounds for abortion in Mexico

In Mexico,abortion is regulated by the Penal Codes of each state.Contrary to what is generally thought, abortion is a legal health service in Mexico,abortion is a legal health service in the country and is decriminalized under certain situations or conditions, depending on the state in which the abortion is performed.Depending on the state of the Mexican Republic in which the termination of pregnancy is performed, persons who perform abortions and those who assist them in these cases cannot be punished for it.

A la date, Mexico City, Oaxaca, Hidalgo, Veracruz, Baja California, Mexico City, Mexico City, Oaxaca, Hidalgo, Veracruz, Baja California,Colima,Sinaloa,Guerrero,Baja California Sur,Quintana Roo, Aguascalientes,Puebla, Jalisco, Michoacán, San Luis Potosí, Chiapas, Zacatecas, Estado de México, Nayarit, Campeche, Yucatán and Tabasco allow abortion on request or legal termination of pregnancy by law.up to 12 weeks of gestation, with the exception of Sinaloa, which allows it up to 13 weeks, and Aguascalientes, which restricts it to 6 weeks.

In addition, as of a ruling of the Plenary of the Supreme Court of Mexico (SCJN) voted on September 7, 2021of the Plenary of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN) voted on September 7, 2021, women and persons with gestational capacity may choose to terminate a pregnancyin Coahuila. The ruling declared invalid the prison sentences for persons who voluntarily perform abortions or those who cause them to have abortions with their consent, previously provided for in article 196 of the Penal Code of the state, on the grounds that they violate the right of women and pregnant women to decide. Therefore, in the entity there is no penalty for those who terminate a pregnancy in the early stages of pregnancy if it is done voluntarily and with the consent of the woman or pregnant person and regardless of her reasons for doing so.

Likewise, the SCJN, through General Declaration of Unconstitutionality 1/2024, approved on January 30, 2025, annulled various provisions that provided for the crime of voluntary abortion, considering them contrary to human rights.The rulings of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation have been taken up by lower courts when studying the regulation of abortion in other states (1).

After 12 weeks of gestation, and in the case of Sinaloa after week 13 or in Aguascalientes after week 6, the peoplein Mexico City, Oaxaca, Hidalgo, Veracruz, Baja California, Colima, Sinaloa, Guerrero, Baja California Sur, Quintana Roo, Aguascalientes, Puebla, Jalisco, San Luis Potosí, Chiapas, Zacatecas, Estado de México, Nayarit, Campeche, Yucatán, Tabasco, Chihuahua and Coahuila.may request an abortion in specific situations or on grounds expressly provided for in their criminal laws.Similarly,States that do not decriminalize abortion in the first trimester always establish grounds for abortion in their laws, regardless of gestational age.

In total, Mexican law recognizes 19 situations or conditions permitted by law, varying from entity to entity.Learn about all the grounds for abortion in the states of Mexico:

• Danger of death:

When the continuation of the pregnancy represents a risk to the life of the pregnant person.

• Serious damage to health:

Article 1 BIS of the General Health Law defines health as a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. The determination of when there is a risk of health impairment is a medical discussion, while the choice of whether to face it or not is a personal decision. In this line, the First Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation identified that the adequate and timely provision of abortion, when a physical, mental or social health condition appears or worsens with pregnancy, is a priority health care service that all health institutions in the country are obliged to provide, regardless of whether their local legislation establishes its legality.

• Due to severe genetic or congenital malformations of the product:

When there is a definitive diagnosis that concludes the existence of genetic or congenital conditions or serious malformations in the product or that put the product’s life at risk.

• For medical reasons:

When the health professional attending the pregnant person, based on objective clinical criteria, identifies that health will be negatively affected with the continuation of a pregnancy, due to the presence of certain risk factors.

• Violation:

When the pregnancy is the result of sexual violence, including forced, coerced or non-consensual sexual intercourse.

• Child sexual abuse:

When the pregnant person is a minor at the time of sexual intercourse.

• Stupro:

When the pregnant person is a minor, but older than fifteen years of age at the time of sexual intercourse, and her consent was obtained by means of seduction or through deception.

• Non-consensual artificial insemination:

When the pregnancy is the result of an assisted reproduction method that was performed against the will of the pregnant person.

• Serious economic causes:

When the pregnant person has a precarious economic situation.

• Reckless or negligent:

When the abortion is unprovoked or is a direct consequence of an action or omission of the pregnant person without prior intent to cause the abortion.

• Spontaneous:

Spontaneous loss of a pregnancy before 24 weeks of gestation, that is, before the fetus is normally viable outside the uterus (WHO, 2022). Aguascalientes is the only state that expressly refers to spontaneous abortion.

• Denial of service:

When an authority previously denied the request for termination of pregnancy made within the time limit that the legislation authorizes abortion.

• Denial of information:

When, in the provision of the services contemplated in the Health Law, the medical or nursing personnel did not correctly and timely inform the pregnant person of her right to terminate her pregnancy during the period of time that the legislation authorizes abortion.

• By threats or concealment:

When the pregnant person was concealed or threatened to prevent her from terminating her pregnancy in the first trimester of pregnancy.

• Obstruction of service:

When the termination of the pregnancy was obstructed within the period of time that the legislation authorizes abortion on request.

• Deprivation of liberty:

The State of Mexico is the only entity that contemplates deprivation of liberty as a cause. Article 258 of the Penal Code for the State of Mexico defines deprivation of liberty.

• When the pregnancy is the result of liaison:

Pregnancy is the result of sexual services provided for financial or other gain to a third party.

• When the pregnancy is the result of human trafficking:

The pregnancy is the result of a situation of sexual exploitation, forced labor or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of an organ, tissue or its components to which a third party subjected the pregnant person by means of abuse of power, deception or physical violence.

• Gynecological disorder:

When the pregnant person could not identify the pregnancy in the first trimester because of a gynecological condition and/or pathology.

The Mexican Constitution establishes in Article 4 that all persons have the right to decide when and how many children they want to have.have the right to decide when and how many children we want to have.Therefore, if you want to know more about what situations or conditions are allowed in your state to access or provide a legal abortion procedure, see our table containing the grounds allowed in each state: