Posted on Sep 5, 2008 | by Staff

MEXICO CITY (BP)--Mexico's Supreme Court has upheld the abortion rights law of the country's capital in a ruling pro-lifers fear will encourage the spread of the practice's legalization to other regions.

The high court voted 8-3 in support of the law, which permits abortion in Mexico City during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. The justices rejected arguments that the country's constitution protects the rights of unborn children, saying the rights of women must be considered, the Los Angeles Times reported after the Aug. 28 ruling. Mexico City's legislature approved the legislation in April 2007.

Abortion in the heavily Roman Catholic country normally is permitted only when the mother's life is threatened or in cases of rape or severe fetal deformities.

Jorge Serrano Limon, director of the pro-life organization Pro Vida, described the ruling as a "real tragedy."

"The fact is that a person has no protection before 12 weeks of life," he said, according to the Times. "It's going to spread across Mexico. We'll keep fighting. It's just going to be more difficult."

Officials report more than 12,600 women have had abortions in Mexico City since the law went into effect, according to the Times.
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Compiled by Baptist Press' Washington bureau chief Tom Strode.