“I don’t see a public figure who could run as a candidate for the presidency, as a pro-life and pro-family politician, so yes, we may have to wait between 30 and 50 years to reverse the issue of decriminalizing abortion by the Supreme Court of Justice,” he said.
The SJCN consists of 11 justices who are elected for 15-year terms. The candidates are nominated by the country’s president and are approved by the Senate.
Four of the current Supreme Court justices were nominated by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. Two others were nominated by his predecessor, Enrique Peña Nieto, and five by former president Felipe Calderón Hinojosa.
In June 2024, a new president of Mexico will be elected and on Dec. 1, 2024, two seats on the Supreme Court of Justice will be vacant — those of Zaldívar Lelo de Larrea and Luis María Aguilar Morales.
‘We can stop this normalization of abortion’
Pilar Rebollo, director of Steps for Life, an organization that brings together tens of thousands of people every year for the March for Life in Mexico City, pointed out that “with the precedent in the United States, we can stop this normalization of abortion, stop the abuse of powers.”
Rebollo said pro-lifers can work to “influence the next generation of justices. Because today we have some justices who are very convinced of an ideology and an agenda that no longer responds to justice and respect for the Constitution.”
For the director of Steps for Life, since the United States is a “big brother in terms of trends,” the recent ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court could favor the pro-life cause in Mexico.
“We still have time to not let it be normalized, for Mexican society to not become lukewarm,” she said.
However, she acknowledged that “this is a medium-range project, because as we know, Supreme Courts don’t change constantly.”
Which is why, she continued, it’s important “to not just focus on the Court but on all the powers that have influence, and to learn from the United States.”
(Story continues below)
Subscribe to our daily newsletter
‘We must start now and act as soon as possible’
Marcial Padilla, director of the pro-life organization ConParticipación, told ACI Prensa that “the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling on abortion is a great sign for Mexico.”
“It confirms that it’s possible to correct the course that a court has taken and recognize the right to life of the child and his or her mother equally,” he stressed.
For Padilla, in Mexico “we can’t take 50 years. We must start now and act as soon as possible.”
“We must look at the path that has been traveled, learn from its lessons, and work along three lines,” he said.
The first of these lines, Padilla said, is “citizen awareness and participation,” because “we have to sensitize society so that it always keeps in mind the urgency of defending motherhood and protecting the child and the mother equally.”