Ban on in-vitro step illegal, nation is told

Saturday, December 22, 2012

— A Costa Rican ban on in-vitro fertilization has been struck down by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in a decision that reproductive health groups said could lead to greater access to abortion and some contraception in other Latin American countries.

The court said in a ruling late Thursday that a longstanding Costa Rican guarantee of protection for every human embryo violated the reproductive freedom of infertile couples because it prohibited them from using in-vitro fertilization, which often involves the disposal of embryos not implanted in a patient’s uterus.

The court said that governments cannot give embryos and fetuses absolute protection under the American Convention on Human Rights. The Costa Rican government said it will comply with the court’s decision and move to allow invitro fertilization.

Front Section, Pages 3 on 12/22/2012