The Legal Abortion Costa Rica collective has presented this Monday, within the framework of International Women’s Day, a citizen initiative that seeks to promote a bill to decriminalize the voluntary interruption of pregnancy until the 14th week of gestation.
Currently, Costa Rica has one of the most restrictive laws regarding abortion, since it only allows the interruption of pregnancy when it endangers the life or health of the mother.
In the country, therapeutic abortion – induced and justified for technical reasons – is allowed, although the group has indicated this Monday in a press conference that it “falls short” compared to the rates of adolescent pregnancy and rape that are registered in the country.
According to data provided by the group, about 27,000 abortions are performed each year, all clandestinely, according to the latest data provided by the Costa Rican Demographic Association (ADC).
The project will need 170,000 citizen signatures to go ahead with the initiative to guarantee free, safe and free abortion in the Central American nation, according to the Delfino news portal.
“From the moment we promoted this project, we were very aware that we do not have the support of some quite specific sectors and that there are groups that will oppose it, but it is not the first time in the history of women’s rights that there are these oppositions. So we are going to work to move it forward,” said the movement’s spokesperson, Alejandra Barrantes.
Thus, the project they want to promote would guarantee the voluntary interruption of pregnancy until the 14th week of gestation inclusive so that “autonomy over the body of women and the opportunity to decide whether or not we want to exercise motherhood or go through a process is guaranteed. of childbirth that is not easy at all “.
Barrantes added in an interview with Delfino that they want “the practice of interrupting pregnancy to be treated as a public health practice, since we believe that it should stop being seen as a criminal policy.”