Mexico's lower house decriminalizes adultery

MEXICO CITY, Mexico (AP) -- Mexico's lower house of Congress has voted to remove adultery from the country's criminal code, noting that no one has been prosecuted for the offense since 2004.

The lower house voted 301-31 Wednesday, with eight abstentions, to decriminalize adultery, but the bill must still be approved by the Senate.

Individual states could still apply fines for the offense.

Legislators argued the code was antiquated and the crime was hard to prove. It is currently punishable by prison terms of up to two years.

In a traditional flurry of activity on the last day of Congress' regular session, the lower house also approved measures guaranteeing that women be eligible for all ranks in Mexico's army.

The house also approved a bill that would do away with the president's traditional September 1 state-of-the-nation speech to Congress, instead requiring the president to submit an annual written report on the affairs of state.

The annual speech has become a flash point for protests, which have forced the president to deliver his remarks outside the halls of Congress for the past two years.

The measures must still be approved by the Senate or, in the case of changes to the Constitution, by state legislatures. E-mail to a friend

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