No menu items!

COSTA RICA'S LEADING ENGLISH LANGUAGE NEWSPAPER

HomeNewsCosta RicaMovement aims to legalize abortion in Costa Rica, sparking protest

Movement aims to legalize abortion in Costa Rica, sparking protest

A Costa Rican lawmaker on Wednesday continued for a third day her sit-in in the center of the plenary room of the Legislative Assembly, in protest at a movement that aims to expand abortion rights in the country.

“I am opposing it because in the articles they bring, there is one that says that abortion can be done up to fourteen weeks (…) it is an aberration against the unborn,” legislator Nidia Céspedes, of the conservative New Republic Party, told AFP.

“I am no longer in my seat, I came to the center of the plenary (of 57 legislators). It is not possible to understand how various feminists want to introduce abortion. The unborn will represent us later. They now have no voice but this deputy raises her voice for them,” she added.

The deputy stands without shoes and participates in the sessions from the center of the plenary, located in the capital, San José. She then she spends the night there until the next day, when work resumes.

She said that she will maintain this measure until she is heard by the government. Her protest, she says, is also in response to the lack of sanction for the murders of two indigenous leaders, defenders of native peoples.

At the beginning of March, the Costa Rican collective Movement for Legal Abortion presented an initiative to decriminalize abortion, which they hope to bring before Parliament. For this proposal to be up for debate, it must be supported by at least 170,000 signatures. The organization has already started collecting signatures.

The national campaign is “for our right to choose,” organizers say, and seeks access to “legal, safe and free abortion in Costa Rica.”

The movement proposes that women can freely decide if they can have an abortion, up to the 14th week of gestation. Beyond 14 weeks, the only legal abortions would be therapeutic — when the pregnant woman’s life is at risk. In Costa Rica, abortion is not allowed in case of rape.

In 2019, the government of President Carlos Alvarado, of the progressive Citizen Action Party (PAC), put into effect a technical rule that regulates the application of therapeutic abortion in case of risk to the health or life of the mother, a measure that unleashed angry reactions from conservative sectors.

The provision establishes a guide for carrying out abortions in accordance with the provisions of the Penal Code, which since 1970 allows for the interruption of pregnancy in the country only in the event that there is a risk to the health or life of the pregnant woman.

Trending Now

Banana Workers’ Strike Ends in Panama After Pension Agreement

Workers at U.S.-based banana company Chiquita Brands in Panama ended their protests and road blockades on Wednesday after reaching an agreement over pension reforms....

Former Nicaraguan President Violeta Chamorro Dies in San José at 95

Violeta Barrios de Chamorro, Nicaragua’s first female president and a key figure in ending her country’s civil war, passed away peacefully this morning in...

From Bookie to “Pura Vida”: A True Costa Rica Expat Story

I recently wrote about my fear that three decades after learning Spanish, I was now slowly losing my fluency, forgetting words I had once...

Guatemala and U.S. Strengthen Cooperation on Migration and Transnational Crime

Migration and drug trafficking dominated a meeting on Friday between U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau and Guatemalan President Bernardo Arévalo, according to...

Costa Rica’s Tortuga Island Hits Coral Milestone in Marine Restoration Push

Costa Rica’s Tortuga Island is making waves in marine conservation. On World Oceans Day the National Learning Institute (INA), State Distance University (UNED), and...

Canada’s Porter Airlines to Launch Direct Costa Rica Flights

Porter Airlines is gearing up to connect Canada with Costa Rica, following approval from the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) to operate direct international flights....
spot_img
Costa Rica Tours
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Travel Insurance
Costa Rica Rocking Chait
Costa Rica Travel

Latest News from Costa Rica