Mexico‘s supreme court has struck down a state abortion law, ruling that criminal penalties for terminating pregnancies are unconstitutional, in a decision which advocates say provides a path to decriminalisation across the country.

In a unanimous 10-0 ruling, the top court ordered the northern state of Coahuila to remove sanctions for abortion from its criminal code – with several justices arguing the prohibitions on voluntarily interrupting a pregnancy violated women’s rights to control their own bodies.

“It is not about the right to abortion,” said justice Luis Maria Aguilar, who wrote the court’s proposal for overturning the Coahuila law. “It’s rather the right to decide of women and persons able to gestate to make decisions.”

More details soon …