The Dominican Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology (SDOG) issued a statement on 16 July 2024 expressing its position on the Penal Code in discussion in Congress that excludes the three grounds for voluntary interruption of pregnancy in exceptional cases. The bill passed in the Senate and is being discussed in the Chamber of Deputies. The SDOG notes that the exclusion of these measures from the congressional debates on the criminal code “results in limited medical care and an increase in unsafe practices that put women’s lives at risk.”
The SDOG urges the abortion measures be considered in the future amendments made to the Constitution of the Republic. The Presidency has announced it would be submitting to Congress reforms to the Constitution as of the start of the new legislature on 16 August 2024.
The SDOG indicates that the non-approval of the decriminalization of abortion in at least the three known causes would maintain the criminal responsibility of doctors under a Penal Code that currently criminalizes all forms of abortion, imposing penalties on health professionals. Nevertheless, the first medical doctor has yet to be taken to trial for an abortion in the Dominican Republic.
“We consider it necessary to discuss the amendment of the Constitution of the Republic, which clearly establishes the right to life, within the framework of a society that deeply respects this right. We request the decriminalization of medical practice in its broadest dimension since the doctor always acts for the benefit and in favor of the preservation of life and the best conditions for people’s health,” the statement says.
The SDOG cited data from the Ministry of Public Health that indicates that there are approximately 25,000 hospitalizations per year in the country due to complications from unsafe abortions. The SDOG argues that decriminalizing abortion in the three specific cases would reduce these figures significantly and improve the quality of health care.
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Listin Diario
17 July 2024