Panama
Grounds on which abortion is permitted:
To save the life of the woman Yes
To preserve physical health Yes
To preserve mental health No
Rape or incest Yes
Foetal impairment No
Economic or social reasons No
Available on request No
Additional requirements:
A multidisciplinary commission appointed by the Ministry of Health must authorize an abortion on the grounds of averting a health risk that would endanger the life of the mother or the foetus; in the case of rape, the authorities must be aware of the crime and the abortion must be performed within the first two months of pregnancy. An abortion must be performed by a physician in a government health-care centre.
Government view on fertility level: Satisfactory
Government intervention concerning fertility level: To maintain
Government policy on contraceptive use: Direct support provided
Percentage of currently married women using
modern contraception (aged 15-44, 1984): 54
Total fertility rate (1995-2000): 2.6
Age-specific fertility rate (per 1,000 women aged 15-19, 1995-2000): 82
Government has expressed particular concern about:
Morbidity and mortality resulting from induced abortion Yes
Complications of childbearing and childbirth Yes
Maternal mortality ratio (per 100,000 live births, 1990):
National 55
Central America 140
Female life expectancy at birth (1995-2000): 76.4
BACKGROUND
Until 1982, abortion was generally illegal in Panama under the Criminal Code of 17 November 1922. Anyone who performed an abortion was subject to imprisonment for 20 months to 3 years. A woman who induced her own abortion was subject to imprisonment for 8-30 months. Harsher penalties were prescribed for medical personnel who performed abortions. Under general criminal law principles of necessity, however, abortion was permitted to save the life of the pregnant woman.
On 22 September 1982, a new Penal Code was enacted that liberalized Panama’s abortion law and set new penalties for abortions performed illegally. Under the Code, a woman who causes her own abortion or consents to another person carrying it out is subject to one to three years’ imprisonment. Anyone inducing an abortion with the woman’s consent is subject to three to six years’ imprisonment. The penalty for inducing an abortion without the woman’s consent or against her will is four to six years’ imprisonment. If the woman dies as a result of the abortion or the means used to induce it, the penalty is 5-10 years’ imprisonment. These penalties are increased by one sixth if the person guilty of inducing the abortion is the woman’s husband.
There is no penalty if an abortion is performed, with the consent of the woman, in order to destroy the product of conception resulting from rape, provided that the rape has been evidenced in a court proceeding. In such cases, the competent authorities must be aware of the crime and the abortion must be performed within the first two months of pregnancy. There is also no penalty if the abortion is performed, with the consent of the woman, for serious health reasons that endanger the life of the mother or the product of conception. In such cases, a multidisciplinary commission appointed by the Ministry of Health is to determine the serious health reasons and authorize the abortion. Under Ministry of Health Resolution No. 02007 of 2 August 1988, the multidisciplinary commission is composed of representatives from various health professions as well as a lawyer from the legal department of the Ministry of Health. The Resolution authorizes the commission to seek aid from other health professions and to establish rules approving therapeutic abortions.
On 21 April 1989, the Ministry of Health (Resolution No. 1) approved the rules of the multidisciplinary commission established to authorize therapeutic abortions. In order for a petition for a therapeutic abortion to be considered, a written request must be submitted by the pregnant woman. This request must be accompanied by a medical record which specifies and supports the diagnosis motivating the petition and by laboratory tests and/or supplementary information confirming the request. Women who are minors or who are incapacitated for legal reasons must have the consent of a legal representative. If necessary, the multidisciplinary commission may request the written opinion of other health professionals, who must cooperate with its members. In each region, the chief of gynaecology and obstetrics of each hospital must analyse the requests of patients in that region and verify the fulfilment of the requirements. The documents must be sent to the national commission, which must meet within the shortest possible time for review and a final decision. Once authorized by the commission, the abortion must be performed by a medical specialist in the state hospital of the health region where it is requested. A therapeutic abortion can never be performed without the written consent of the multidisciplinary commission.
The Government of Panama has strongly supported family planning and has been providing subsidized services since 1973. The Government promotes natural and modern methods of family planning through the Ministry of Health and a private family planning organization of the country, the Asociación Panameña para el Planeamiento de la Familia (APLAFA), which was founded in 1965. The modern contraceptive prevalence rate was estimated at 54 per cent in 1984. Adolescent fertility is a major concern of the Government and a programme of sex education in the schools has been implemented. Parental participation and the dissemination of information on sex education through the press also encouraged. Despite these efforts, it is estimated that more than 20 per cent of declared abortions in Panama involve adolescents.
APLAFA is confronting the problem of adolescent pregnancy with a wide range of activities that focus not only on the prevention of unwanted pregnancies but also on the provision of prenatal and postnatal care for those choosing to carry an unwanted pregnancy to term. Sterilization is legal in Panama. The programme also includes an educational component offering employment services, vocational training, and social and recreational activities, as well as extensive reproductive health services.
Efforts to promote family planning in Panama have been generally successful. Between 1965 and 1985, for example, the total fertility rate decreased from 6.0 to 3.0 children per woman. The total fertility rate is currently (1995-2000) at 2.6 children per woman while the population growth rate has slowed to an estimated 1.8 per cent.
Source: Population Policy Data Bank maintained by the Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat. For additional sources, see list of references.
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