Mexico's Supreme Court upheld the capital's abortion law Thursday, setting a precedent that could reverberate across the rest of largely Roman Catholic Latin America.
By a vote of 8-3, the high court ruled that the measure passed in Mexico City last year, which allowed legal abortions in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, didn't violate the federal constitution or any international agreements.
"It opens the road for all of Latin America to start visualizing legal paths to abortion," said Raffaella Schiavon, who directs the international reproductive-rights group Ipas.
The eight judges made clear in oral presentations earlier this week that a woman's rights were a higher priority than the rights of an unborn child. The judges steered clear of a ruling on when human life begins, arguing it's not a legal concept.
The issue will still be a battleground. Conservative President Felipe Calderón, whose administration appealed the Mexico City law to the high court, will likely continue fighting efforts to expand the availability of abortions.
The case was closely watched across Latin America, where church officials have fought hard to prevent liberalization of abortion rights. Abortion is now only legal in Guyana and Cuba.
Illegal abortions have long been prevalent in Mexico, with academic experts estimating 500,000 to 1 million occur annually.
It's long been an open secret that poor women turned to clandestine, often dangerous abortions, while wealthier women had them done in private hospitals.
Since May 2007, 12 designated public hospitals in Mexico City have performed more than 12,000 free abortions, a total of 35 to 40 procedures each day.
Most involve poor women and almost 40 percent of these women said they had too many children and couldn't afford another.
Under the law, all Mexico City public hospitals must give their patients free abortions, but doctors under the public system also have the right to refuse to carry out the procedure. Private hospitals are not obliged to give abortions but can without facing penalty.
Even with the Supreme Court's approval, abortion-rights groups complain many doctors refuse to do the procedure in Mexico City. Some are morally opposed, while others fear public scorn or the wrath of the country's powerful church.
The Catholic Church blasted the court on Thursday, declaring itself in mourning and issuing a statement that church leaders would redouble their efforts to campaign on behalf of "the millions of children who are being sacrificed."
Source: Seattle Times, USA, 29 August 2008