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Activists’ victory means IMSS now offers public hospital abortion services in 25 states

MND Staff
By MND Staff
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Abortion activists
After the Supreme Court's landmark decision decriminalizing abortion, activists turned their attention to gaining access to abortion in the public health system. (Graciela López/Cuartoscuro.com)

The Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS), which provides public health care for workers and their families, is now required to guarantee elective abortion services in the states where abortion has been decriminalized.

This new mandate follows a legal victory for activist groups who promoted at least 14 amparo lawsuits (judicial actions to protect individuals from acts of authorities) in favor of almost 300 pregnant IMSS beneficiaries.

Three key rulings, two in Chihuahua and one in Oaxaca, formally ordered the IMSS to implement elective abortion services for its beneficiary population. These rulings require the IMSS to adjust its budget accordingly, train staff, and organize the service network to ensure the right to elective abortion where local law already permits it.

These rulings have general effects, meaning that they not only protect those who filed the lawsuits, but also anyone entitled to benefits from IMSS. 

As a first step to comply with the resolutions, the IMSS developed a Technical Guide for elective abortion aimed at its staff. It also created a WhatsApp chatbot to provide information about the procedure and the states where it is legal. Both the chatbot and informational materials aim to ensure that users know where to go and what they can request within the IMSS network of units.

The IMSS guide and chatbot indicate that elective abortion is legal up to the 12th week of pregnancy (first trimester) in 24 states. In Aguascalientes, the limit is the sixth week.

Currently, elective abortion is legal in 25 states plus Mexico City, the outliers being Guanajuato, Durango, Morelos, Querétaro, Nuevo León, Tamaulipas, and Sonora. In those six states, elective abortion remains criminalized, meaning beneficiaries in these states can’t access the guide. 

The organization Abortistas MX, one of the several organizations that promoted the lawsuits, called the developments a collective achievement in which actions from civil society to promote reproductive justice in the country played the key role.

“We celebrate this progress resulting from the injunctions we won collectively in 2024,” the organization wrote in its official X account. 

 With reports from Verificado

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