Case Initiated with Regard to a Norm that does not Envisage Covering the Costs of Home Birth from the State Budget Resources
On 12 March 2014 the 1st Panel of the Constitutional Court initiated a case “On the Compliance of Para 555 of Annex 16 “Tariffs of Health Care Services for Preventive, Diagnostic, Treatment and Rehabilitation Services” to the Cabinet of Ministers Regulation of 17 December 2013 No. 1529 “The Procedure for Organising and Financing Health Care”, insofar it does not Envisage a Tariff for Scheduled Birth outside Inpatient Facilities”, with the First Sentence of Article 91 of the Satversme of the Republic of Latvia”.
Contested Norm
The contested norm envisages that physiological labour should be recognised as general inpatient facility service, the costs of which should be covered from the State budget resources.
Norm of Higher Legal Force
The first sentence of Article 91 of the Satversme: “All human beings in Latvia shall be equal before the law and the courts.”
The Facts
The case is initiated having regard to the application submitted by the Ombudsman of the Republic of Latvia. The Ombudsman notes that the contested norm does not envisage covering the costs of scheduled labour outside inpatient facilities (home birth) from the State budget. The State allegedly covers the cost of obstetric help only if the scheduled labour takes place in an inpatient facility. However, the women, who receive the obstetric assistance at an inpatient facility, and women, who receive the obstetric assistance at home, are in similar and comparable circumstances, therefore the regulation on funding the obstetric services should apply to them equally. Moreover, Law on Sexual and Reproductive Health envisages that the State ensures obstetric assistance free of charge. Hence the contested norm excludes home birth from the scope of services paid for by the State without objective and reasonable grounds.
Legal Proceedings
The Constitutional Court has asked the Cabinet of Ministers to provide a reply on the facts of the case and legal substantiation by 12 May 2014.
The term for preparing the case is 12 August 2014. The Court shall decide upon the procedure and the date for hearing the case after the case has been prepared.
Linked case: 2014-08-03