ACLU of Puerto Rico calls on governor to veto bills that restrict access to information and put reproductive rights at risk

San Juan, P.R. – The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Puerto Rico today urged Governor Jenniffer González Colón to veto Senate Bill 63 and Senate Bill 504, approved by both legislative chambers, on the grounds that both measures have harmful effects on fundamental rights protected by the Constitution of Puerto Rico and the Constitution of the United States.

The organization warned that S.B. 63, which amends Law 141 2019, the Transparency and Expedited Procedure for Access to Public Information Act, far from “facilitating” such access, introduces new obstacles, extends unjustified deadlines, and reinforces a restrictive view of the people’s right to hold the government accountable.

Among other changes, the bill redefines “information” and the “format” for disclosure, underscores that agencies are not required to create documents, and extends deadlines for producing public information up to 20 or 30 working days, with the possibility of an additional 20-day extension, all in a context in which there is already a pattern of delays, denials, and obstructions to the right of access.

The law also complicates the process of requesting information by requiring additional notices to the head of the agency and to the leadership of the corresponding branch, under penalty that the request be deemed “defective” and fail to trigger response deadlines.

“Access to public information is not a privilege or a gracious concession from the government; it is a direct corollary of freedom of expression, freedom of the press, and the people’s right to take part in public affairs,” said Lolimar Escudero Rodríguez, Public Policy Counsel for the ACLU of Puerto Rico.

Escudero Rodríguez argued that S.B. 63 reinforces precisely the practices that Law 141-2019 was supposed to correct, with the threat of delaying, complicating, and denying access to documents that belong to the people. “Instead of elevating transparency, what it does is reinforce a bureaucratic wall that shields those in power from the people’s scrutiny. The governor has a constitutional duty to prevent that setback and veto this measure in its entirety,” she noted.

The organization also urged a veto of Senate Bill 504, which seeks to recognize the nasciturus as a natural person endowed with legal personality and capacity, through amendments to the 2020 Civil Code.

According to the analysis submitted by the ACLU of Puerto Rico to the House Judiciary Committee, the bill uses broad, ambiguous, and biased definitions that open the door to interpretations that could undermine the reproductive and health rights of women and pregnant people, as well as generate legal uncertainty in multiple areas of law.

“S.B. 504 attempts to present itself as a technical or forward looking measure, but in reality it paves the way to restrict and eventually criminalize intimate decisions about one’s body and health,” Escudero Rodríguez warned.

“By recognizing the conceived as a ‘natural person’ without clearly delimiting the scope of that legal personality, the measure collides with the right to privacy, dignity, and bodily autonomy protected by our Constitution. If approved, it would open the door to litigation and interpretations that could restrict access to abortion, affect in vitro fertilization techniques, and deepen the inequalities already faced by poor women, young women, and survivors of violence,” stated the ACLU of Puerto Rico Legal Director, Fermín Arraiza Navas.

In its written analysis, the organization emphasized that the bill does not respond to a real problem identified by the evidence, does not include impact studies, and does not concretely explain how it would improve the protection of existing rights. Instead, it introduces a radical doctrinal change that could affect criminal law, family law, inheritance and succession law, insurance, employment, and access to health services, among others.

The organization stressed that the governor not only has the authority, but the constitutional obligation to stop measures that undermine the separation of church and state, that discriminate, or that erode fundamental rights such as equality, privacy, dignity, freedom of expression, and access to public information.

Escudero Rodríguez also underscored that both bills share the same logic of concentrating power and restricting rights. “Limiting access to public information and undermining reproductive rights are two sides of the same coin, with a vision of the country in which the State decides what people are allowed to know and what they can do with their own bodies,” she said.

The ACLU of Puerto Rico called on the public, community organizations, health professionals, journalists’ associations, and academic sectors to raise their voices and demand that the governor exercise her veto power. “In a context of economic crisis, gender-based violence, and widespread distrust in institutions, the government should be expanding spaces for participation and guaranteeing the maximum protection of rights,” Arraiza Navas emphasized.