Mexican bishops urge Supreme Court to defend life

Mexico City, Mexico, Apr 25, 2013 / 15:04 pm

The bishops of Mexico have called on the Supreme Court to resist pressure from abortion supporters seeking to overturn 18 state laws protecting the right to life from the moment of conception.

A statement from the Mexican bishops' conference referred to three lawsuits aimed at fighting the state laws. The full court is expected to rule on the lawsuits in the coming days.

The bishops reminded the Mexican justices that their principal mission is to defend the "most basic of all rights, the right to life," upon which "the present and future of our nation depends."

"The fundamental right to life does not depend on the moral character of the person who defends it, nor is it based exclusively on religious motives, which in any case also have a place in an authentic secular state that does not discriminate against any citizen because of their religious beliefs," the bishops said.

They also observed that after a reform of country's laws in 2002, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that Mexico's constitution "protects human life and similarly protects the product of conception, in so much as it is a manifestation of human life, regardless of its biological stage of development."

For this reason, the bishops continued, "If progress means moving forward positively, then we Mexicans must continue ahead in the recognition, promotion and defense of the rights of all persons, aware that a society can only be democratic, live in peace and have a future if it respects the fundamental right to life from the moment of conception."

"For all these reasons, the Bishops' Conference of Mexico hopes that, for the good of all Mexican citizens, the Supreme Court, in accord with what it has already ruled in this area, will confirm the power of states to freely legislate within the bounds of their sovereignty, as befits a Federal Republic," the bishops said.