Inter Press Service: Costa Rican Women Try to Pull Legal Therapeutic Abortion Out of Limbo
“The lack of clear regulations and guidelines on therapeutic abortion in Costa Rica means women depend on the interpretation of doctors with regard to the circumstances under which the procedure can be legally practiced. Article 121 of Costa Rica’s penal code stipulates that abortion is only legal when the mother’s health or life is at risk. But in practice the public health authorities only recognize risk to the mother’s life as legal grounds for terminating a pregnancy…” (Ortiz, 6/24).