Some 400 organizations in Mexico have praised the country’s Supreme Court for upholding pro-life constitutional reforms in the states of Baja California and San Luis de Potosi.

In a democratic country, the organizations said in an Oct. 3 statement, “everyone, without exception, has the duty and responsibility to follow and uphold the law.” 
 
They noted that the federal constitution and the international treaties ratified by Mexico guarantee the right to life, and therefore state congresses can establish that human life must be protected from the moment of conception.
 
The organizations also pointed out that the pro-life reforms keep in place the exceptions for abortion “established by law” and prevent a woman “who commits an abortion for those reasons” from being criminally punished.
 
“In 2008 and now in 2011, Justice Margarita Luna Ramos voted to uphold the right of state congresses to legislate on this issue, while Justices Sergio Salvador Aguirre Anguiano and Guillermo Ortiz Mayagoitia, then and now, voted to uphold the right to life. They were joined by Justice Jorge Mario Pardo Rebolledo, who made forceful legal arguments in support of their position.”
 
“The right to life from the moment of conception/fertilization does not harm or take away any rights for women,” the organizations stated. “On the contrary, the essence of the reforms is to provide protection to women and safety for their unborn children.”