“We are reaching a point where we will be forced to make a decision. That includes the possibility of passing IVF by an executive decree so that the country does not have to face another sanction,” Solís told reporters.
Costa Rica is the only country in the Western Hemisphere to completely ban in vitro fertilization. Some 70 couples are suing the government for denying them the right to undergo the procedure, asking for compensation of up to ₡150 million each.
Rev. David Solano, a sociologist and director of the Juan XIII School, acknowledged the trend away from Catholicism in the region: “We see this as a pastoral challenge.”
The one-time Lutheran bishop has been cleared by the Supreme Court’s Constitutional Chamber to keep his seat in President Luis Guillermo Solís’ cabinet when a majority of the justices ruled that a ban on religious authorities heading ministries only applied to Roman Catholic priests.
