Costa Rica: Proposed amendments could remove emergency contraception from services for sexual violence survivors
November 2026. The Committee on Women’s Affairs of Costa Rica’s Legislative Assembly is reviewing a bill that seeks to give legal status to the existing 72-hour inter-institutional protocol for the comprehensive response to survivors of sexual violence.
The protocol establishes a coordinated rapid response involving medical, psychological and judicial services and the the proposed legislation aims to formalize it (Bill No. 23.633, Ley para la institucionalización legal del protocolo de las 72 horas y los Equipos de Respuesta Rápida para la Atención Integral a Víctimas de Delitos Sexuales (ERRVV))
However, during the legislative review process, members of the Committee have proposed removing emergency contraception (EC) from the minimum package of services provided to survivors of sexual violence, or alternatively, to make the provision of EC conditional on a pregnancy test being performed beforehand.
Routine pregnancy testing is not medically necessary before providing EC. For further information, see WHO’s fact sheet on the safety of levonorgestrel-alone emergency contraceptive pills (LNG ECPs), available in English and Spanish.
Currently levonorgestrel (LNG) emergency contraceptive pills are available in Costa Rica from pharmacies without a medical prescription. While the bill is under discussion, the existing protocol remains in force and continues to include EC as part of the care provided to survivors.
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