By Catholic News Service • Posted May 3, 2013

MEXICO CITY (CNS) — Mexico’s Supreme Court upheld two states’ constitutional amendments that say life begins at conception.

The court ruled 5-4 May 2 against a challenge to the amendments brought by municipalities in the states of Oaxaca and Guanajuato; the court ruled that local governments have no jurisdiction over health matters.

A similar constitutional amendment from the state of Queretaro was invalidated April 29 by the court due to irregularities in how it was approved, the newspaper Reforma reported. Only two of the state’s 18 municipalities approved the amendment, short of the 12 municipalities necessary.

The court previously upheld a 2006 law decriminalizing abortion in Mexico City — technically a federal district and not a municipality — by saying that states could set rules regarding abortion. Eighteen of Mexico’s 31 states subsequently passed constitutional amendments either restricting access to abortion or declaring that life begins at conception.

In 2011, the court rejected challenges to amendments approved in the states of Baja California and San Luis Potosi.