Mexican Supreme Court to review abortion law

MEXICO CITY, May 29 (Reuters) - Mexico's Supreme Court will consider the constitutionality of a new law that legalizes abortion in Mexico City, the high court said in a statement on Tuesday.

Last month, Mexico City's legislature made abortion legal in the capital during the first 12 weeks of a woman's pregnancy, sparking street demonstrations both for and against the new law.

The law, which has been criticized by Pope Benedict and other religious figures, is one of the first to legalize abortion in predominantly Catholic Latin America.

In its statement, the court said it accepted a challenge to the law by Mexico's top human rights official, Jose Luis Soberanes, who argued that it violates Mexico's constitution.

The court did not say when it would take up the case.

Mexico's attorney general's office has also challenged the abortion law.

For a law to be declared unconstitutional, eight of the 11 Supreme Court's magistrates must vote against it.

On a recent trip to Brazil, Pope Benedict said Catholic politicians who supported abortion risked excommunication from the church and should not receive communion.

The Catholic Church says abortion is the taking of a human life and considers it a grave sin.