Mexico's Guerrero state becomes ninth to allow abortions

Pro-abortion activists hold up banners reading "Legal abortion" and "Forcing gestation is torture" during a protest against abortion named "For the Life", a week after the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN) decriminalized abortion, in Monterrey, Mexico September 12, 2021. REUTERS/Daniel Becerril - RC2BOP9T0YWZ

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Lawmakers in Mexico's southwestern state of Guerrero voted on Tuesday to allow abortions, making it the ninth of the country's 32 federal entities where women can legally end pregnancies amid a recent wave of loosening restrictions around the procedure.

The approved measure, which strips punishment of one to three years of jail time from the penal code, passed with 30 votes in favor and 13 against.