Catholic Mexican bishops have lauded the pro-life ruling in Mexico’s Supreme Court rejecting a push to decriminalise abortion in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy in the state of Veracruz. “Thank you. Blessed be God. #Yes to life”, tweeted Auxiliary Bishop Alfonso Miranda Guardiola of Monterrey after the ruling. John Smeaton, SPUC Chief Executive, said: “The decision of Mexico’s Supreme Court is a significant victory for Veracruz and its unborn. SPUC is delighted to see that a campaign for life, supported by its bishops, is at work in Mexico.”

The Mexican Supreme Court voted 4-1 against the injunction by a local judge who, last year, sought to legislate abortion up to 12 weeks in the state of Veracruz for health reasons, as well as scrap the time limit in instances of rape.

Responding to the decision to reject the judge’s anti-life injunction, the Mexican bishops’ conference declared: “Today in Mexico the culture of life is triumphing.”

The injunction was founded on a lower court challenge asserting that the current legislation discriminates against women. After the state refused the lower court’s instruction to allow abortion up to 12 weeks, the legal challenge was referred to the Supreme Court for a conclusive ruling.

Currently, Veracruz’s constitution protects life from the moment of conception until death. Had the injunction been upheld, it would have set a precedent allowing other states to amend their penal codes, opening a way to the sanctioning of abortion in Mexico’s other states.

“Today life won in Veracruz”

The Archdiocese of Mexico City declared: “Today life won in Veracruz – and in the country itself – thanks to the Supreme Court’s rejection of the effort to decriminalize abortion in the state, recognizing that this procedure is not a right in any law, whether national or international.”

The country’s bishops thanked “each and every one who joined together to pray and to raise their voices” after the Mexican bishops’ conference had called on legislators to defend the sanctity of life.

Ultimately, more than 400 legislators and jurists forwarded an open letter to the Supreme Court urging it to vote against the expansion of abortion in Mexico.

“We must always be vigilant, at home and abroad”

John Smeaton said: “The mobilisation of the citizens and faithful of Mexico shows what can be accomplished when men and women of good conscience rally against the attempt to diminish the right to life of the unborn. We applaud those judges who heeded the voices, prayers and concerns of the Mexican people, as expressed by its Catholic bishops.

“The attempt to expand abortion in Mexico should remind us that the attack on the rights of the unborn is truly international and constant. We must always be vigilant, at home and abroad, in the ongoing action to stand up for the pro-life cause.”

The ruling in Mexico follows the pro-life victory in the UK earlier this month when the attempt to hijack the Domestic Abuse Bill and use it to decriminalise abortion failed after resistance by SPUC grassroots supporters and their allies around the country.