Costa Rica asked to reconsider decision on in vitro fertilization

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights has asked Costa Rica to reverse its position on in vitro fertilization and lift its 10-year ban on the reproductive procedure.

Costa Rica has less than a month left to respond to the decision, which was transmitted quietly to Foreign Minister René Castro in August.

Gerardo Trejos, a lawyer who helped draft Costa Rica’s 1974 Family Code, submitted the case to the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights of the Organization of American States in 2001 on behalf of 10 infertile couples.

He argued that the ban, which was introduced in 2000, is a violation of human rights. Since then, many Tico couples have left the country in order to undertake the procedure.

President Laura Chinchilla declined to comment on the situation, saying that the matter is in “the hands of the state” and that it is the obligation of the Foreign Ministry and Legislative Assembly to respond to the commission. 

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights said that Costa Rica’s position violates the right of every person to create a family.