Mexico's Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that criminal penalties for abortion in the world's second largest Catholic nation are unconstitutional.
The unanimous vote by the 11 members of the high court comes as Texas, just north of the US border, has taken steps to restrict access to the procedure after enacting the strictest anti-abortion law in the country last week.
'This is a historic step for the rights of women,' Mexican Supreme Court Justice Luis Maria Aguilar said.
Abortion remains illegal in much of Latin America, with only four countries allowing it under all circumstances, and the move in Mexico makes it the most populous country in a region dominated by Catholicism to allow it.
A priest along with a group of religious conservatives prayed outside the Supreme Court of Justice in Mexico City ahead of its landmark ruling on Tuesday decriminalizing abortion
Mexico, is home to the second largest population of Catholics, who are opposed to abortion on religious grounds
Mexican Supreme Court Justice Luis Maria Aguilar called the ruling a historic step for the rights of women'
With a Catholic population of roughly 100million according to the latest figures from the Pew Research Center, it trails only Brazil in the world with its roughly 140million Catholics.
The ruling follows moves in Mexico to decriminalize abortion at the state level, although most of the country still has tough laws in place against women terminating their pregnancy early.
Most recently on July 20, the Mexican state of Veracruz become the fourth in the country to clear away criminal penalties for elective abortion.
It followed votes in Mexico City, Oaxaca and Hidalgo to ease abortion restrictions in late June.
The ruling concerned a law in the state of Coahuila that sets prison sentences for up to three years for women who undergo an illegal abortion.
The decision comes amid a growing women's movement in Mexico, where half of its congress is made up of female politicians. Pictured: Protesters calling for safe and legal abortions in Mexico City in February, 2020
