Costa Rica’s New IVF Law Unacceptable
Costa Rica’s proposed bill on in vitro fertilization (IVF) violates international human rights standards, according to a brief the Center submitted to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) on November 18.
Even though IVF has helped countless couples around the world have children they desperately want, Costa Rica has outlawed it since 2000. The Center filed an friend-of-the-court brief supporting a lawsuit against the absolute ban before the IACHR in 2004. In August the Commission issued a preliminary decision that found the ban to be a violation of basic human rights.
In response, the Costa Rican government drafted a new law that legalizes the procedure, but with numerous restrictions that violate medical standards and best practices. In our brief, we urge the IACHR not to accept this new law as a measure that complies with the recommendations in its preliminary decision. Together with more than fifty other national and international groups, we also signed an urgent action letter calling on IACHR to reject the new law.
