MEXICO CITY — In a lopsided ruling, Mexico's Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a year-old law in Mexico City legalizing abortions during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy.
The court rejected arguments by abortion opponents that the law violated the Mexican Constitution, whose protections they said covered embryos. A majority of justices said overturning the law would block the right of women to end pregnancies in the early weeks.
The vote was 8 to 3 to uphold the measure, approved in April 2007 by Mexico City's leftist-dominated government. Opponents needed support from at least eight of the 11 justices to overturn the law.
The ruling is likely to encourage similar legislative drives outside Mexico City, where abortion remains illegal except in certain cases, such as pregnancies resulting from rape or incest.
Abortion rights activists said the ruling set a precedent for state legislatures to pass measures legalizing abortion. The leftist Democratic Revolution Party, which governs Mexico City, has signaled plans to push for such laws.
The court decision was a defeat for the nation's Roman Catholic Church and the conservative National Action Party of President Felipe Calderon, which were vocal critics of the law. The federal attorney general's office and Mexico's human rights commission lodged the formal challenge.
The ruling, which came after six public hearings, pleased abortion rights advocates in a heavily Catholic nation.
Mexico City is among the few places in Latin America where women can legally terminate pregnancies apart from rape and incest cases.
"It's historic, with a huge impact on women's rights, not only in Mexico but throughout Latin America," said Maria Consuelo Mejia, who heads a group of Catholics who favor abortion rights. "No one has the right to impose a pregnancy on a woman."
Jorge Serrano Limon, who directs Pro Vida, an anti-abortion group, called the decision "a real tragedy."
"Eight justices voted against life. The fact is that a person has no protection before 12 weeks of life," he said. "It's going to spread across Mexico."
Serrano said anti-abortion forces would meet next week to decide their next move.
"We'll keep fighting," he said. "It's just going to be more difficult."
It was clear during the televised deliberations that the legalization law's opponents lacked the votes to throw it out. The court majority dismissed arguments that the Mexican Constitution protected embryos and said women's rights needed to be weighed.
