news
Abortion banned from Dominican Republic
by Victor Lepoutre
Date: 18 September 2009
Source: The Argentimes.com
The Dominican Republic's Chamber of Deputies has decided to amend its constitution to read: "the right to life is inviolable from conception until death".
The amendment was introduced by President Fernandez and the debate has pitted civil society and medical associations against the Catholic Church. The College of Physicians and the Dominican Gynecology and Obstetrics Society favour abortion to save a woman's life and in cases of rape or incest. The Obstetrics Society warned that the number of maternal deaths, currently 160 per 100,000 live births, will increase because doctors will fear being charged even if they act to save the woman's life. The amendment would also bar abortion of ectopic pregnancies. The cost of abortion is also likely to increase because it will become more clandestine. While politicians and church leaders repeat publicly that abortion is illegal, in practice, the law is not enforced. Various social organisations protested against the law and vow to bring the case to an international human rights organisation.
