In a series called Mondo Ironico, let us discuss how fucking antithetical something in pop culture/politics is.
On the heels of Texas going straight up Taliban on women (okay, not quite—but still, this is primeval) with their recently affirmed abortion law (sanctioned by the U.S. Supreme Court), it feels like a deliberate move on the part of Mexico’s Supreme Court to suddenly decriminalize abortion “unanimously annulling several provisions of a law from Coahuila—a state on the Texas border—that had made [it] a criminal act.” Really? Just as Texas opts for this entirely retro approach to women’s reproductive rights? It seems like an undercutting “sick burn” at its finest. In addition, perhaps, to an economic stratagem.
After all, Texas is conveniently located right above the country, making it the ideal haven for the women now being referred to as “abortion refugees” to dip on down and get that fetus plucked out. What also seems especially convenient about this sudden decision to decriminalize abortion is that it “will immediately affect only the northern border state.” With it merely being a “historic precedent… compelling [judges] to act the same way in similar cases.” But, chances are, it might not compel judges in southern parts of Mexico when its northern territory is getting all of Texas’ “runoff” business anyway.
Regardless of the act’s decriminalization in Mexico, it’s not all vag vacuums and misoprostol tablets just yet. As stated by a former judge, Diego Valadés, on the court, “The ruling does not immediately make abortion widely available in all parts of Mexico but could give states a roadmap to change their laws.” What’s more, “the decision frees women who have been jailed for getting abortions. Only four Mexican states—Mexico City, Oaxaca, Veracruz and Hidalgo—now allow abortion in most circumstances. The other twenty-eight states penalize abortion with some exceptions.” And yet, that’s all more hopeful than what Texas has done in 2021.
In any case, Mexico has already long been a port in the storm for women in the U.S. seeking an abortion. Making their fair share of money off desperation before the U.S. theoretically “got its act together.” As far back as the 60s, it was customary for women’s rights activists to provide clandestine information—known as “The List”—regarding which doctors in Mexico would, as safely as possible, perform the service. It was an underground railroad, in essence, for abortion.
After what Texas hath wrought, it should come as no shock to the state when they find that many women are still “bypassing” “the law” with a little trip to Mexico—the place that has long served as a sort of “Vegas” for Americans, in that it’s the place most open to “sin” despite being among the most staunchly Catholic nations in the world. With this in mind, Joe “Catholic” Biden’s own opposition to the stringent “Heartbeat Act” should give Texan Republicans some indication that the religion has “evolved” as a means to stay relevant in the current times in order to keep its ever-dwindling followers of the “teachings.” But no, Greg Abbott and his ilk make George H.W. Bush seem progressive.
Gregg Abbott and his ilk make the Mexican Supreme Court seem progressive. That’s really not a good look on America (but then, not much has been for quite some time now). With criminal penalties against abortion presently being unconstitutional in Mexico, the court’s President, Arturo Zaldívar, added, “From now on you will not be able to, without violating the court’s criteria and the constitution, charge any woman who aborts under the circumstances this court has ruled as valid.” This refers, for the time being, to abortions carried out within the first twelve weeks of pregnancy, which gives an additional month-plus cushion to Texas’ six-week rule—a law, mind you, that makes it stand alone as the only state in the country with such a restrictive decree. In fact, only prior to Roe vs. Wade were mandates on a woman’s body in this regard so prohibitive, with every state but a few deeming abortion all-out illegal before that landmark case (save for some states providing an exception to the rule in cases of rape or danger to a woman’s health—gee, how generous).
Whether or not Mexico’s well-timed political move was a deliberate serve against the state and country that’s constantly giving it harsh treatment at the border is left to one’s discretion. But it’s easy to imagine quite a few Mexicans laughing at the U.S.’ provincial expense right now.
