Quintana Roo Enacts ‘Ley Nicole’ Banning Cosmetic Surgery on Minors

Chetumal, Quintana Roo — Quintana Roo has prohibited invasive plastic, aesthetic and cosmetic surgeries performed solely to change a person’s appearance in minors under 18, after the state Congress approved a reform to the Penal Code.

The amendment, known as “Ley Nicole,” imposes prison terms of three to six years on anyone who carries out such procedures on children or adolescents outside the cases allowed by law.

With the reform, Quintana Roo becomes the second state in Mexico, after Durango, to enact a specific ban on these surgeries for minors. Durango approved its own “Ley Nicole” in November 2025.

What the Ban Covers — and What It Does Not

The new provision draws a sharp distinction: the restriction targets operations with a purely aesthetic purpose. Reconstructive procedures remain permitted when a medical reason justifies them.

That includes surgery needed to treat congenital malformations, injuries caused by accidents, or physiological abnormalities that could affect a minor’s physical or psychological integrity.

In those cases, a decision that surgery is necessary is not enough. Under the approved reform, a specialized medical opinion and a psychological evaluation must support the intervention.

One argument behind the change is that the body is still developing during childhood and adolescence. An operation performed only to alter appearance can carry physical consequences as well as emotional ones, particularly when the decision stems from social pressure or particular beauty standards.

The Case Behind the Law

The measure follows a case that sparked a national debate. Paloma Nicole Arellano was 14 years old and living in Durango when she underwent aesthetic procedures in September 2025 and later died after suffering severe complications. Legislative documents from Durango state that the teenager underwent breast augmentation, liposuction and fat transfer.

Her death focused scrutiny on the conditions under which cosmetic surgery can be performed on minors and on the gaps in regulating it. The case first led to legal changes in Durango and also prompted initiatives to amend federal legislation.

Until then, a central point of the debate was that federal health legislation set requirements for the clinics and specialists who perform cosmetic surgery but did not expressly establish a minimum age for undergoing it.

Penalties

Quintana Roo chose to move the restriction into criminal law. That means performing invasive cosmetic surgery on a minor outside the established exceptions can now carry consequences beyond an administrative sanction.

The approved penalty ranges from three to six years in prison. Lawmakers said the intent is also to prevent possible cases of negligence and to set limits on interventions that do not respond to a medical need.

The reform also highlights the conditions under which such a decision is made. During adolescence, body image can be shaped by social and emotional factors, while surgery can produce permanent changes.

With the approval of “Ley Nicole,” Quintana Roo now sets a legal boundary at 18: an invasive operation intended only to change physical appearance falls outside what is permitted, while reconstructive surgery remains available when there is a medical need and the requirements are met.