In a victory for unborn babies, the Mexico Supreme Court of Justice ruled three to one against a proposal to legalize abortion across the country on Wednesday, Telsur reported.

The proposal would have removed abortion parameters in Mexican law that protect the unborn child. The law currently allows exceptions in cases of rape and the life of the mother.

Mexico Supreme Court Justice Arturo Zaldivar was behind the proposal to legalize abortion in the country, according to the report. He stated that restricting abortion “violates women’s rights to personal development, sexual and reproductive health, and freedom from discrimination.”

In Mexico, a woman procuring an abortion can face criminal charges in 18 of the 31 states. The proposal attempted to declare a criminal sentence unconstitutional, and sought to make abortion more accessible, the report states.

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Mexico City allows abortions and has expanded its pro-abortion law the past. In 2007, Mexico City legalized abortion during the first three months of pregnancy, according to the report. Throughout the rest of the country abortion remains illegal, except in rare circumstances.

The proposal was largely founded on the case of Margarita Pino Salazar, a 41-year-old whose request for abortion was denied by a federal hospital, according to National Right to Life News Today. Her pregnancy did not fall within the exceptions that allow for abortion, so she instead had the abortion at private health facility. Justice Zaldivar referred to her case when discussing the criminalization of abortion; however, because her case didn’t apply, the justices disregarded the argument.

This was the first abortion case to be considered on the federal level in Mexico. According to the country’s Supreme Court justices, new proposals surrounding abortion could be considered in the future.

Justice Zaldivar was correct in his concern for women, but his attempt at protecting them was misguided. Women seeking abortions often feel desperate and out of options. This is why it is imperative that life-affirming options are presented to the mother.