MEXICO: Protests for abortion rights

Pro-choice protests were held in Mexico, prompted by a Supreme Court decision in July that dodged a ruling on a complaint that could have opened a legal path towards decriminalising abortion. In a four-to-one decision, the court missed its appointment with history, rejecting on purely technical grounds an application that argued that abortion restrictions contravened women’s rights and international treaties ratified by Mexico, without addressing the substance of the argument. Demands continued, and on 28 September, International Safe Abortion Day, a feminist group demanding legal abortion in Mexico City mobilised, facing excessive police force and arbitrary detentions. The police used teargas, encircled protesters and prevented them leaving for several hours.