San José, Costa Rica, Dec 15, 2019 / 03:22 am
Costa Rica's president on Dec. 12 issued a technical decree that defines the conditions under which a doctor may perform an abortion when doctors consider it necessary to preserve the life of the mother.
President Carlos Alvarado on Thursday signed the decree that, while not changing any laws, lays out how a woman may legally choose abortion in some circumstances.
Bishop José Manuel Garita Herrera of Ciudad Quesada spoke out against the decree and urged respect for both lives- that of the mother and of the child in her womb.
"To doctors, my call is also that, faithful to the principle and vocation to which they have consecrated themselves, allow them to place their gifts at the service of the mother and her son," Bishop Herrera said, as reported by CNA's Spanish-language news partner ACI Prensa.