Reproductive right is a fundamental, constitutionally guaranteed freedom of every individual. The constitution binds the state to provide opportunities for the realisation of said freedom and for creating conditions that enable parents to decide to have children. Three rights ensue from this reproductive right, namely the right to birth control, the right to termination of pregnancy, and the right to diagnose and treat decreased fertility. These rights are mostly realised through health measures, whose suitability and accessibility must be ensured by the state. Paying for services may pose a limitation, making them less accessible to people from weaker social classes. Under the right to birth control a person is entitled to a temporary or permanent birth control method. The latter right is given only to a person aged 35 and over, unless necessary for medical reasons. A pregnant woman can decide to terminate the pregnancy up to the tenth week; after that the procedure requires consent from a commission. Underage pregnant women enforce this right on their own, without their parents’ consent. Under the right to infertility treatment, the right to biomedically assisted conception is granted only to couples, i.e. men and women, either married or living in a domestic partnership, and not e.g. to women without partners or to same-sex partners. Under Slovenian law, procedures using both donor egg and donor sperm cells or a donor embryo are illegal, even if both partners are infertile. It also prohibits biomedical assistance with surrogacy. In connection with the planning of pregnancy and the birth of a child, a patient may suffer damages and in some cases a doctor may be held liable for them.
|
