April 1, 2025
On March 28, 2025, the Center for Health and Human Rights was honored to welcome Justice Ríos Farjat of the Mexican Supreme Court (SCJN) to the O’Neill Institute offices to give a presentation on “The Right to Choose in Mexico: The Criteria used by the Supreme Court.”
Justice Ríos Farjat provided a fascinating history of the Mexican Supreme Court’s jurisprudence on gender-based violence, women’s rights, and sexual and reproductive rights. She highlighted the Court’s leadership and innovation on these issues, through the creation of protocols on judging with a gender perspective and on the Court’s jurisprudence, and the recognition of new kinds of violence against women, including obstetric violence and vicarious violence within families.
She also provided insights into the factors that led to the Court’s landmark decision that found the criminalization of abortion to be unconstitutional in Mexico, including her perspective on the role of criminal law in Mexico and the punitive power of the state. She noted, in particular, that the existence of the crime of abortion in Mexico was impeding critical access to health services.
The Center for Health and Human Rights is pleased to continue to serve as a venue for critical dialogue with members of the judiciary across Latin America and looks forward to future conversations.