Constitutional Court Upholds Right to Voluntary Sterilization
The Sala Constitucional or Sala IV as it also referred to, supports the righ of a patient of the Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social (CCSS) to submit herself to voluntary sterilization as a method of family planning.

The Court said that Costa Ricans have the right to ask for sterilization and when denied with any scientific or medical fundamentals, it is a violation of the right to medical attention and access to public health services.

The decision is contained in file 2958-2006 handed down on March 7.

Voluntarily sterilization has been possible since 1999 following and presidential decree that established the procedures for the surgery as method of control birth, both in women and men who do not wish to have children.

The Sala IV was asked to make a decision following an appeal made by a woman identified by her last name Elizondo, who was sent to the Clínica Dr. Ricardo Moreno Cañas, at Hospital San Juan de Dios, last December 26.

However, the clinic refused to provide the services on the basis that her medical card was not up to date. The Court magistrates, after analyzing the case, determined that the woman's health card was current and the denial of service, was based on the voluntary sterilization, which is a violation of rights to medical services.

The Court has ordered the director of the San Juan de Dios hospital, Manrique Soto, to "immediately fix a date for the surgery". The Court added that since this is not a "medical emergency", they can only order the hospital to fix a date for the procedure.

The right to voluntary sterilization has been upheld by the Sala IV since 2002 when it proclaimed that "all couples and individuals can freely decide how many children they want to have and the years apart of the children".

The Court also guarantees "the right to take relative decision in reproduction without suffering discrimination, coercion or violence" and underlined that the necessary information be given to patients before making a decision.