Pro-life group charges court bias in Costa Rica IVF case

San José, Costa Rica, Oct 4, 2012 / 16:03 pm

A local pro-life group claims the Inter-American Human Rights Court compromised its impartiality by voicing pro-abortion views ahead of an upcoming ruling on Costa Rica's in-vitro fertilization ban.

The Population Research Institute reported Sept. 27 that the Solidarity and Human Rights Institute has filed a complaint at the United Nations General Assembly against justices Margaret Macaulay, Alberto Perez and Diego Garcia Sayan.

"The three have shown themselves to be against the defense of life and against the guiding principles of the Court and of the international treaties involving the region's nations, such as the San Jose Pact, which clearly establishes that every human being has the right to life from the moment of conception," the institute warned.

In 2012, Costa Rica's congress rejected the legalization of in-vitro fertilization as a violation of the right to life. Supporters of the procedure, however, filed suit before the Inter-American Human Rights Court.  

"The mere existence of a bias in favor of the legalization of abortion" on the part of three judges "raises questions about their impartiality and good faith" the group added.

What the court decides "will have implications for the integrity of the Inter-American System, whether that be safeguarding it or confirming that today it has become ideologically and politically compromised."