Mexico City, Sep 7 (IANS): The Supreme Court of Mexico has decriminalised abortion across the country, two years after it ruled in favour of a challenge to an existing law in Coahuila state saying that criminal penalties for terminating pregnancies were unconstitutional, the media reported on Thursday.

The new ruling which came on Wednesday, will legalise abortion across all 32 states, reports the BBC.

In its verdict, the court said that the denial of the possibility of a termination violated the human rights of women.

"In cases of rape, no girl can be forced to become a mother - neither by the state nor by her parents nor her guardians," the BBC quoted Arturo Zaldivar, head of the Supreme Court, as saying.

"Here, the violation of her rights is more serious, not only because of her status as a victim, but also because of her age, which makes it necessary to analyse the issue from the perspective of the best interests of minors."

In 2007, the country's capital, Mexico City, became the first to decriminalise abortion.

In Latin America, elective abortion is legal in Colombia, Cuba, Uruguay and Argentina.

While countries allow abortions in circumstances such as rape or health risks, outright bans apply in El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Haiti and the Dominican Republic.