Mexico City, Mexico, Jul 8, 2009 / 17:22 pm
The Human Rights Commission of the Mexican state of Puebla has rejected a petition to declare unconstitutional a reform of the constitution that protects the unborn, saying “the right to life is the essential foundation for the protection of all other human rights.”
On June 23, pro-abortion organizations asked the Commission to declare the reform unconstitutional, but it replied that there was no basis for “determining that the reform of the Puebla State Constitution was contrary to the General Constitution of the Republic.”
It also noted that while there are “very different and contrasting views on the issue” of abortion in Mexico, the Supreme Court “has ruled there is no constitutional obligation to criminalize or decriminalize abortion, and therefore states have the power to legislate the issue,” as has occurred in Puebla.
In March the Puebla State Congress approved a reform of the constitution that granted legal protection for human life from conception to natural death. It was the result of an effort by lawmakers to head off attempts to legalize abortion in the state.