Puerto Rico hearing examines Senate Bill 297 on parental consent and protocols for abortions of girls 15 and under

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Lawmakers on the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee heard testimony March 19 on Senate Bill 297, a measure that would establish a protocol for handling abortion cases involving girls 15 years old or younger and require written informed consent from at least one parent or legal custodian before an abortion may be performed in Puerto Rico.

Speakers from the Office of the Procuradora de la Mujer (OPM) and the Department of Public Safety (DSP) told the committee they generally favor elevating existing administrative rules into law but urged several technical and policy changes, including a clarified consent standard and an expedited judicial alternative when parents or custodians are unavailable or in disagreement.

Fabiola Plaza Rivera, an attorney appearing for the OPM, told the committee that her office “favorecemos la aprobación del proyecto del Senado 297, sujeto a la atención de nuestras recomendaciones,” and then outlined recommendations to avoid future legal disputes. The OPM recommended rewriting the bill to state explicitly that the consent of a single parent with patria potestad (parental authority) is sufficient, to add a third judicial pathway when no parent or custodian is available or consents, and to remove an automatic mandatory referral to the Department of the Family in all parental-consent cases unless there is a clear suspicion of abuse.

Plaza and other OPM attorneys cited the Civil Code provisions reflected in the OPM brief — articles the office…