High Courts and Reproductive Rights in Latin America

In a rather predictable unison – invariably referring to Latin America as a highly religious and conservative region when prefacing their stories – international commentary on the recent liberalization of abortion regulation in Latin America has been one of surprise. That some Latin American countries have become more liberal than the United States on abortion rights appears to be a veritable puzzle. However, among observers who have followed developments more closely (and with a lens able to pierce past stylized stereotypes), these policy changes have not been entirely unexpected. Indeed, the recent wave of abortion decriminalization in Latin America is the culmination of larger, historical processes that have involved the gradual judicialization of reproductive rights in some countries of the region. Courts have been a central part of the story. In this piece, we look at three countries that have completely decriminalized abortion, Mexico, Colombia, and Argentina, to show that the arguments advanced by state and non-state actors in favor of decriminalization have significantly built on jurisprudence developed over many years. The process of abortion decriminalization has been partly a tale of gradual judicialization.