Deputies Jose Horacio Rodriguez (Alianza Pais) and Santiago Vilorio (Modern Revolutionary Party – PRM) presented to the Chamber of Deputies their dissident report that backs the inclusion of the three grounds to abortion in the Penal Code under review in Congress.
In their dissenting opinion, the two legislators state:
“Convinced that our mandate as legislators obliges us to ensure that the laws we pass uphold the fundamental rights enshrined in Articles 37, 38, 42 and 61 of the Constitution of the Republic, which respectively protect the rights to life, dignity, personal integrity and health of all persons, and considering that these rights are not suspended to the detriment of any woman as a result of pregnancy, we ratify our position supported by the special commission in the sense that the Dominican Republic, as almost all countries in the world have done, should go beyond the absolute criminalization of abortion, we ratify our position sustained in the special committee in the sense that the Dominican Republic, as almost all the countries of the world have done, must overcome the absolute criminalization of abortion to adopt a legislation coherent with the commitments that the Dominican State has assumed in the matter of human rights, both through our own Constitution and the international agreements subscribed and ratified by the public powers in the free exercise of our sovereignty.
“We propose to the honorable plenary the following alternative wording to Article 112 of the draft Penal Code of the Dominican Republic:
“Article 112. Exceptions: The abortion practiced by specialized medical personnel in a public or private health center, with the consent of the pregnant woman, is not punishable in the following circumstances:
“If it has been done to avoid a danger to the life or health of the woman and if this danger cannot be avoided by other means.
“If the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest.
“If the fetus suffers from a pathology incompatible with extra-uterine life.
“In all circumstances, the Ministry of Public Health will adopt the corresponding medical protocol and will guarantee, by the means at its disposal, unrestricted access to cases of exemption from criminal responsibility.”
The Penal Code needs two-thirds of the vote of the legislators. It is first being heard in the Chamber of Deputies. There are 190 deputies, of which 104 have signed a document saying they are not in favor of the three grounds.
The bill presented by the Special Committee of the Penal Code has kept the criminalizing of abortion and only includes a provision when the life of the mother is in danger.
The debates on the Penal Code are taking place at the Chamber of Deputies this week.
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El Nuevo Diario
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El Nuevo Diario
21 April 2021