Abstract

SAGOT RODRIGUEZ, Montserrat  and  CARCEDO CABANAS, Ana. Aborto inducido: ética y derechos. Med. leg. Costa Rica [online]. 2002, vol.19, n.2, pp.63-77. ISSN 2215-5287.

Although abortion is commonly practiced throughout the world, it is a subject that arouses controversy because it raises fundamental questions about human existence, such as when life begins, the right of women to control their own bodies, sexuality, the nature of the State's duties in this matter, and the tension between secular and religious views of human life. This debate allows to make visible the fact that there are no homogencous or unchanging views on these subjects. In that sense, although in many countries the practice of abortion is iIlegal, the issue remits us more to the level of moral and ethical principles. In this article we discuss some of the implications of these controversies and provide information about the incidence of abortion, as well as of the consequences of both unsafe abortion and legalization of the practice. Finally, we analyze the implications of the laws that criminalize abortion on behalf of the fulfillment of some fundamental rights, such as the respect to differences, freedom of choice, self-determination and tolerance.

Keywords : Abortion; induced abortion; women's rights; unsafe abortion; no penalty; tolerance.