Costa Rica's president Rodrigo Chaves limits abortion to life-threatening cases

Costa Ricas President Rodrigo Chaves further restricted access to abortion Wednesday limiting it to situations when the mothers life is in dangerThe countrys previous regulations also allowed abortions if a pregnancy posed a threat to the mothers health No legislative approval was required for the changeIn making the rule change through the Health Ministry Chaves made good on a promise he had given religious conservatives at the Evangelical Alliance earlier this monthToday the only reason for which an abortion can be done without penalty is when there are only two options the mothers life or the life of the being that is inside Chaves said during a news conferenceWhile abortion access has advanced in recent years in some of Latin Americas 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 mothers life is at riskThe Evangelical Alliance celebrated Chaves change in a statement This is an opportunity to unite around a universal principle the value of all human life said alliance President Pastor Ronald VargasBut those who support abortion access were quick to see a political deal ahead of next years presidential elections in February Chaves cannot run for reelection but is supporting his partys candidateUnfortunately once again its 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 said Laura Valenciano a human rights advocate with the nongovernmental organization Citizen Association ACCEDER which stands for Strategic Actions for Human RightsCosta Rica has long banned most abortions with some exceptions These were not clearly defined until a rule in 2019 said that an abortion could be carried out if the mothers health was at riskValenciano said that she was not aware of an abortion carried out under that exception during Chaves presidency She called on him to provide dataThe people would see theyre making a smoke screen and distracting us from very important issues Valenciano saidChaves was viewed with scepticism by some women when he ran for president in 2022 The World Bank found 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 allegationsThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever