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Email: "COSTA RICA HIGH COURT DECLARES IN-VITRO FERTILIZATION UNCONSTITUTIONAL"

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BY LifeSiteNews.com SAN JOSE, Oct 18 (LSN.ca) - In a decision made public in March, the reasons for which only became public October 11, the highest Constitutional Court in Costa Rica ruled that in-vitro fertilization is unconstitutional. Lawyer Hermas Navarro Del Valle, a member of the advisory committee of the Bishops Conference of Costa Rica, brought the case forward. The court ruled that according to the constitution, “The human embryo is a person from the moment of conception ... not an object ... not to be frozen ... (and that it is) not constitutionally legitimate to be exposed to a disproportionate risk of death.” The court noted that the in-vitro fertilization procedure put the embryos created at risk of death since multiple embryos are created with the procedure with the knowledge that only one (in most cases) will survive. The case was initiated against a Feb. 1995 executive decree, which authorized in-vitro fertilization, although with strict limits. Pro-life lawyer Alexandra Loria commented on the decision saying, “as a Costa Rican I am very proud” of this ruling. Dan Zeidler, President of the Family Life Council and a representative for the Latin American Alliance for the Family, told LifeSite that the decision “created a firestorm in Costa Rica especially by the media which has put the court under tremendous pressure.” Unlike in-vitro fertilization procedures in North America which are frequently undertaken for sperm and egg donations from unmarried partners and even strangers, and which create dozens of “extra” embryos to be frozen, disposed of, or experimented on, the Costa Rican allowance was restrictive. The procedure was restricted to spouses and prohibited the creation of more than six embryos, all of which were required to be transferred to the mother’s womb. LifeSite has obtained a copy of the ruling in Spanish which will be available this evening in Adobe acrobat format at:  http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2000/oct/001018b.pdf http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/costa-rica-high-court-declares-in-vitro-fertilization-unconstitutional/

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