He draft decree to reform the technical standard on therapeutic abortion was presented by the Ministry of Health as a priority of the high level of the Government, which included the President of the Republic, Rodrigo Chavez; to the former Minister of Health, Joselyn Chacon; to the current interim minister, Alexei Carrillo; and to the president of the CCSS, Martha Esquivel.
This is revealed by the video of the 35-minute virtual meeting in which Guillermo Castro Rodriguez, a lawyer for the Ministry of Health, spoke about the document to the members of a technical commission that this portfolio had formed to review the norm. The meeting occurred on February 17.
The draft decree – which was prepared by a separate “team” whose members are unknown – would exclude the risk to the health of the mother as justification for the pregnancy termination procedure, despite the fact that this is one of the two conditions established since 1970 in the Article 121 of the Penal Code. The other is the danger of death.
According to the recording, the draft did not have the endorsement of the technical commission, but Castro told them that he had to move forward, “it will not be forgotten, that will not happen”; therefore, he urged them to have a “broad mind.”
Meeting on therapeutic abortion draft
When the existence of the document was disclosed last Thursday, the President Chaves he said he didn’t know and called the news “gossip and rumours”. The Ministry of Health, for its part, admitted the veracity of the text, but denied that the president and the minister knew it.
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At the meeting, the lawyer Guillermo Castro said: “I am going to make the indication to the minister (Alexei Carrillo) about the references and that we are going to delay a little more so that he can make the indication to the Presidential House, which is the one that is driving this to come out as soon as possible”.
He also stated: “I tell you that both the minister Joselyn Chacon (who resigned on February 7), at the time she was very interested in this manual, in this regulation, she was 100% included in this process and also included the president. And now, Mr. Alexei (Carrillo) who knows him, is interested in him coming over.”
Regarding the CCSS chief, he said: “It is an improvement to the position that the Fund will have; it’s Mrs. Marta is already clearwhat also agree in the project that we are proposing”.
The official technical commission, convened by various sectors, had recommended not changing the technical standard issued in 2019, but the official warned them that this draft should move forward.
He told them with these words: “I don’t think it can be eliminated, we can modify it, but removing it in a single blur, I don’t think that’s going to be done. It is not going to be forgotten, that is not going to happen”.
The official identified himself as the liaison with the ministerial office of the Ministry of Health.
The recording states that the draft did not have the endorsement of those present, but Castro insisted: “What we need is that you have a little more spacewe can be a little more broad-minded.”
The meeting was attended by the representative of the Costa Rican Social Security Fund (CCSS), Carla Veronica Gríos Dávila; that of the National Institute for Women (Inamu), Karla Gamboa; the expert lawyer in Human Rights, Larissa Arroyo; and the obstetric nurse, Griselda Ugalde.
Also, they were Cesar Gamboa, Director of Health Services; and his subordinate, Allan Varela.
“You have to do it calmly, but don’t fall asleep either. We need this rule to passCastro continued.
Larissa Arroyo recommended that the authorities consult the Ombudsman’s Office, as well as the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.
The lawyer Guillermo Castro is the one Joselyn Chacón, former Minister of Health, identified as an adviser to her office, in a note dated January 18 in which she requested the publication of the draft regulation.
According to him, the drafting of the new rule was in charge of CCSS and private doctors, as well as two “famous” constitutional and criminal lawyers.
The previous week, the lawyer of the Constitutional Court, Jose Joaquin Alvaradoacknowledged having collaborated with the document, at the request of a “friend” of his, the lawyer Raul Escalanteadviser to the office of the former deputy for the past four years, Shirley Díaz, of the Social Christian Unity Party (PUSC).
Alvarado ruled out being the author, and stated that he was consulted for his specialty in bioethics. They were “academic opinions”, according to what he said.
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Meanwhile, Escalante said that the document is basically authored by him and a team whose members he refused to reveal. He maintained that they did so at the request of former minister Joselyn Chacón.
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The obstetric nurse Griselda Ugalde Salazarwho has a master’s degree in Public Health, has been a professor at the UCR School of Nursing and president of the professional association, pointed out at the meeting that the new document was meaningless.
“My observation is that I have certain doubts about its scientific validity, inconsistencies between title and content, seems to be ignorant of current regulationssaid the nurse.
The previous week, the Ministry of Health lawyer sent the draft to the College of Nurses to confirm if Ugalde’s position coincides with the entity that represents the union.
For her part, the lawyer Larissa Arroyo He said he understood that politically they did not want to review the construction process, but he warned that the document has “very serious errors, and that human rights are being violated, in a flagrant way”.
She denounced that the proposal reduces the application of the Penal Code and exceeds the powers of the Executive Power.
Carla Veronica Gríos Dávilafrom the CCSS, who validates an improvement to the current technical standard, disagreed with “abolishing” the current regulations.
Meanwhile, the INAMU representative, Karla Gamboaasked for time for the president of his entity to know the proposal and to be able to talk within the institution with the technicians.
The technical standard began to be discussed in 2015 and Health issued it in December 2019. Its purpose is to regulate the procedure for the interruption of pregnancy when the life or health of the mother is in danger. The therapeutic interruption of pregnancy, according to the US Health Library, “is a medical abortion that is carried out when the woman has a health condition”
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