Costa Rica’s president limits abortion to life-threatening cases

SAN JOSE Costa Rica AP Costa Rica s President Rodrigo Chaves further restricted access to abortion Wednesday limiting it to situations when the mother s life is in danger The country s previous regulations also allowed abortions if a pregnancy posed a threat to the mother s strength No legislative approval was required for the change In making the rule change through the Wellness Ministry Chaves made good on a promise he had given religious conservatives at the Evangelical Alliance earlier this month At present the only reason for which an abortion can be done without penalty is when there are only two options the mother s life or the life of the being that is inside Chaves reported during a news conference While abortion access has advanced in newest years in various of Latin America s largest countries including Mexico and Argentina Central American governments have maintained strong restrictions Countries including Honduras El Salvador and Nicaragua have total bans while Guatemala allows for abortion when the mother s life is at liability The Evangelical Alliance celebrated Chaves change in a message This is an opportunity to unite around a universal principle the value of all human life reported alliance President Pastor Ronald Vargas But those who encouragement abortion access were quick to see a political deal ahead of next year s presidential elections in February Chaves cannot run for reelection but is supporting his party s candidate Unfortunately once again it s the women and people with the ability to bear children who have to carry the weight that they negotiate our rights in exchange for obtaining votes or appealing to conservative groups stated Laura Valenciano a human rights advocate with the nongovernmental organization Citizen Association ACCEDER which stands for Strategic Actions for Human Rights Costa Rica has long banned the greater part abortions with certain exceptions These were not clearly defined until a rule in revealed that an abortion could be carried out if the mother s medical was at menace Valenciano commented that she was not aware of an abortion carried out under that exception during Chaves presidency She called on him to provide input The people would see they re making a smoke screen and distracting us from very significant issues Valenciano reported Chaves was viewed with skepticism by chosen women when he ran for president in The World Bank discovered that the conservative economist had sexually harassed various women while he was employed there and he was eventually sanctioned for misconduct demoted and pushed out He has continually denied the claims Source