Mexico's Oaxaca state legalises abortion in historic move for Catholic nation

Mexico's Oaxaca state legalises abortion in historic move for Catholic nation
Pro-choice demonstrators celebrate after lawmakers passed legislation that decriminalizes abortion, at the local congress in Oaxaca, Mexico September 25, 2019. REUTERS/Jose Luis Plata Copyright JORGE LUIS PLATA(Reuters)
By Reuters
Share this articleComments
Share this articleClose Button

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - The Mexican state of Oaxaca on Wednesday approved a bill to legalise abortion, making it only the second region of the predominantly Roman Catholic country after Mexico City to permit the procedure.

Amid raucous shouts of protest from opponents, the local Congress voted by 24 lawmakers in favour to 10 against to allow abortions during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy in Oaxaca, a southern state that has long been among Mexico's poorest.

The state Congress is dominated by the leftist National Regeneration Movement of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who has avoided taking a clear stand on abortion.

Approval of the measure came just a few days after Lopez Obrador sent a bill to the federal Congress that would grant an amnesty to women serving jail terms for abortion.

Outside of the Mexican capital, which legalized abortion in 2007, the procedure has been illegal in all states until now except under certain circumstances, such as rape.

(Reporting by Diego Ore; Editing by Tom Brown)

Share this articleComments

You might also like

Pope's message read by aide as he recovers from illness

King Charles III diagnosed with cancer, Buckingham Palace says

Glyphosate: The much-criticised herbicide that's still used in Europe