Public policy and female sterilization in Costa Rica.

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Reproductive Health
• Latin American Studies

Background:

• Female sterilization has seen a sustained rise in Costa Rica over two decades.
• Contraceptive sterilization lacks explicit legal authorization in Costa Rica.
• Existing national policy allowed for broad interpretations, facilitating contraceptive sterilizations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the impact of stricter 1976 guidelines on contraceptive sterilization rates in Costa Rica.
• To analyze the long-term trends in female sterilization following policy changes.

Main Methods:

• Utilized data from the 1976 National Fertility Survey.
• Employed data from the 1981 Contraceptive Prevalence Survey.
• Analyzed sterilization rates and estimated long-term sterilization proportions.

Main Results:

• Sterilization rates decreased significantly immediately after the 1976 policy change.
• Rates rebounded substantially by 1980, indicating a short-term policy effect.
• The estimated proportion of married women ultimately sterilized remained consistent before and after 1976, around 50%.

Conclusions:

• The 1976 policy tightening had a transient effect on female sterilization rates.
• Long-term trends in female sterilization in Costa Rica were largely unaffected by the policy change.
• Contraceptive sterilization remains a prevalent method despite legal and policy shifts.