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Sunday 26 October 2008,
San José, Costa Rica
Support To Legalize The
"Morning After Pill"
A group of legislators
from different parties
and the ministra de
Salud, María Luisa
Ávila, are looking to
legalize the
distribution of the
"morning after" pill in
Costa Rica.
Currently there is no
regulation on the pill
and the idea of the
ministerio de Salud to
legalize the product is
so that it can be
distributed free of
charged by the Caja
Costarricense de Seguro
Social (CCSS) - social
security.
In many western
countries it is regarded
as an emergency
contraceptive, not an
abortion-causing drug -
it won't work if you are
already pregnant.
The morning-after pill
is not 100 per cent
effective, but the
failure rate is quite
low. It's probably about
10 per cent, and rather
better than that if you
take it as early as
possible, working best
if taken within 24 hours
of unprotected sex.
The pill prevents the
ovaries from releasing
an egg or altering the
lining of the womb, so a
fertilized egg can't
embed itself there.
Ávila, in defending her
decision, said that the
pill is not
contraceptive in that it
does not interrupt the
pregnancy if the egg has
already been fertilized,
thus the pill is not
abortive.
The plan is to allow
women the "right" to get
the medication from the
social security, within
the reforms of the Ley
General de Salud
(general health law).
Supporting the plan are
legislators Ana Helena
Chacón (Partido Unidad
Social Cristiana), José
Merino del Río (Frente
Amplio), Liberación
Nacional party Maureen
Ballestero, Federico
Tinoco and Óscar Núñez,
and independents Evita
Arguedas andAndrea
Morales, and Alberto
Salom of the PAC.
The morning after pill
is currentl available in
Costa Rica even though
it does not have
permits, most of the
purchases being made
over the internet,
mocking health controls.
Salud minister Ávila
acknowledges the
situation and feels it
is better to have the
pill distributed under
controls and not as it
is currently.
Carlos Castro, director
of the Posgrado de
Obstetricia de la UCR,
said that the chemical
composition is available
through the CCSS if a
doctor prescribes the
necessary quantity that
has the same effect of
the the morning after
pill, to have the same
effect.
"Legalizing the pill
makes things easier",
said Castro, who added
that by doing so it will
eliminate many of the
myths that currently
exist, and failing the
legalization, doctors
will continue to
prescribe as usual.
The idea to distribute
the morning after pill
through the CCSS is to
permit its access to the
poor.
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