The green wave of abortion rights keeps going in Latin America

MEXICO — On May 14, Tabasco’s state congress passed a bill decriminalising abortion until 12 weeks of pregnancy, with 33 votes in favor, one against, and one abstention. The law was passed after the state’s highest court declared that banning abortion in the Tabasco Criminal Code was unconstitutional, and directed thet state congress to legislate on the matter. With the addition of Tabasco, 24 of 32 Mexican states have legalised abortion. The eight where it is still criminalised are Durango, Guanajuato, Morelos, Nuevo León, Querétaro, Sonora, Tamaulipas, and Tlaxcala.

CHILE — Chilean president Gabriel Boric’s government has introduced a bill that would legalise voluntary abortion up to 14 weeks of pregnancy. The government has made two previous attempts to liberalise abortions laws: first to include it as a right in a new constitution that was rejected by voters in a referendum, and second as part of an earlier bill that was voted down in the National Assembly. « I ask Congress not to refuse to discuss it. These women are still there. Many may be your relatives, friends, close ones, and they have carried a stigma they don’t deserve. Let’s shake off our prejudices, » the president said during his last State of the Nation speech before elections in November. Abortion totally banned in Chile until 2017, when it was partially decriminalised during under president Michelle Bachelet, and is now permitted only in cases of rape, risk to the patient’s life or foetal abnormality.

UNITED KINGDOM — New national guidance in the UK allows police to search the homes of women who have suffered a miscarriage for abortion pills and examine their internet history, private conversations and menstrual tracking apps. It also allows access to confidential medical records to determine if a miscarriage or stillbirth was in fact an illegal abortion. Abortion in the UK is legal up to 24 weeks of pregnancy under the Abortion Act of 1967, which provides exceptions in cases of  risk to the patient’s life or foetal abnormality. Pregnancies ended outside of these conditions can result in criminal charges. This week, British MPs will start debating a petition, which received more than 103,000 signatures, relating to decriminalising abortion.

EUROPEAN UNION — An initiative collecting signatures to ban conversion therapies for LGBTQ+ people has obtained 1,2 millions supporters, and will be introduced in the European Commission for consideration. After verifying the signatures, the Commission is required to respond to the European Citizens’ Initiative. Conversion therapies include behavioral conditioning or aversion therapy, medication or hormonal interventions, or even electroshock therapy, aiming at changing a person’s sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression. According to ILGA, only eight of the 27 countries in the European Union have completely banned conversion therapy for LGBTQIA+ people. These are Belgium, Cyprus, France, Germany, Greece, Malta, Portugal and Spain.

ITALY — Italy’s constitutional court ruled in May that both women in a lesbian couple who undergo in vitro fertilization (IVF) abroad can be officially recognised on the birth certificate as parents, regardless of biological ties. This ruling claims it is unconstitutional to refuse legal recognition to a non-biological mother because it violates her equality and personal identity rights. It also denies a child the fundamental right to receive consistent care, education, and emotional support from both parents. Last month, the Italian court of cassation reinstated the possibility of using “parents” instead of the wording « father and mother » on children’s electronic identity cards. In July 2023, a prosecutor demanded that 33 birth certificates of children born to lesbian couples be changed to remove the names of the non-biological mothers, after far-right prime minister Giorgia Meloni ordered city councils to stop registering the births of children with same-sex parents.

BRAZIL — The Brazilian Supreme Court has upheld an appeal allowing a non-binary person to register their gender identity as neutral on their civil document. Activists hope the ruling could lead to national recognition of non-binary people. The case involves a person who originally requested to be recognized as male, but after undergoing surgery and hormone treatment, realised that they didn’t recognise themselves as belonging to either the male or female gender. In 2018, Brazil’s Supreme Court granted the right to gender self-identification by allowing trans people to change their names at the Civil Registry without undergoing surgery or legal authorisation. But until now there has been no recognition for non-binary people on official documentation.

PERU — The Dina Boluarte administration has enacted a bathroom ban for trans people. The new law “prohibits the entry and use of public restrooms to any person whose biological sex does not match the sex for which the service is intended.” Human rights organisations have warned the law is transphobic and discriminatory, and that it violates transgender people’s rights. According to the bill, passed by the Congress in February, the objective is to “strengthen the right to sexual integrity of children and adolescents.” In Peru, gender identity is not legally defined, which means that trans people already lack access to many basic rights.

PALESTINE — UN Women estimates that more than 28,000 women and girls have been killed in Gaza since the war with Israel began in October 2023 — an average of one woman and one girl killed every hour.  The organisation has warned that the situation in Gaza has worsened dramatically after the ceasefire collapsed in March, with the blockade on humanitarian aid, including food, medications and other essential supplies. Over one million women and girls are now facing life-threatening levels of hunger, while rising maternal mortality rates and displacement are rising. According to UNFPA, one in three pregnancies are high-risk, and one in five newborns is born prematurely or underweight, requiring specialist care that is almost inaccessible. Only five hospitals can provide maternity care across the entire Gaza Strip.

MALTA — Malta will invest €439,000 to provide free menstrual products in 58 middle and secondary schools across the country. Products such as menstrual pads and tampons will be distributed through vending machines. The announcement follows the success of a pilot project launched in September last year in several secondary schools, which benefited some 900 girls. The free provision of sanitary products aims to « eliminate menstrual stigma by normalising open discussions on menstrual health; ensure that no student misses out on educational opportunities due to a lack of access to essential hygiene products; promote a culture of inclusivity, dignity, and awareness regarding menstrual health and well-being ».

PERU — The Inter-American Court of Human Rights has begun hearings in the case of Celia Ramos Durand, a 34-year-old indigenous and rural woman who died after undergoing a forced sterilisation. This is the first time an international court examines a case of reproductive violence, setting a historic precedent that could also bring justice to thousands of Peruvian women. Ramos was pressed multiple times by medical staff to undergo a sterilisation during a family planning campaign in a rural district in 1997. She suffered a drug-induced respiratory arrest during surgery, and was in a coma for 19 days, until she died. Between 1996 and 2000, the Alberto Fujimori dictatorship implemented a notorious family planning program aimed to reduce poverty through extreme birth control, including forced sterilisations. Official records estimate nearly 7,000 victims, although they could be up to 300,000.

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