They made the “Johanna Law” official: what rights does it guarantee in a case of perinatal death

After the Senate Chamber approved Law No. 27,733, popularly known as “Johanna Law”which guarantees medical care to women and pregnant women who experience the perinatal death of their children, the Government made the approval official by publishing the judicial text in the Official bulletin. The legislation will apply from week 22 of pregnancy until 7 days after birth.

The objectives proposed by the “Johanna Law” are the obligation of health professionals to be trained in the care of patients and family members who suffer a perinatal death, that specialists can accompany them through and process grief for the loss, facilitate the access to therapeutic treatments and permanent support regarding the bureaucratic procedures to be fulfilled, in reference to the documentation that must be presented and provide a channel for consultations.

In contrast to the history of violence suffered by the promoter of the law, the rights that will be guaranteed to women and pregnant women will be the fact of being informed about the existing medical and therapeutic interventions to go through the process and the freedom to opt for any of these alternatives; receive respectful, individual and personalized treatment that ensures privacy and considers the patient’s cultural patterns.

Among the guarantees listed, patients will have the possibility of making contact with the lifeless body for as long as they deem necessary to say goodbye to their loved one. Likewise, you can ask to be accompanied by a psychologist in the farewell process and they must provide you with pertinent information about methods of inhibiting or donating breast milk.

In this same sense, they may choose to be accompanied by a particular person or even not have any company in the midst of grieving. Likewise, they will be authorized to know the true causes of death, if this has been determined. Otherwise, they will have the power to request an autopsy, an anatomopathological study and/or genetic counseling, if they consider it pertinent.

On the other hand, the law will certify that, in cases in which the patient must remain hospitalized, that she can have an individualized and appropriate space for herself and her family/emotional environment. In addition, she must receive medical and psychological treatments according to her situation, in order to avoid cases of chronic grief.

Another right that medical personnel must abide by will be the will of women and pregnant people not to undergo examinations or interventions that do not have investigative purposes. However, in order to access the recommendations that professionals may make, they must give their written consent according to the protocol established by the Bioethics Committee.

One of the key points to keep in mind is that the “Johanna Law” must be applied in both state and private medical institutions. Likewise, the rule was established at the national level, so health centers located within Argentine territory should not refuse to activate the protocol.

In line with the objectives of the standard, it urged social works, prepaid medicine entities and those that provide care to university staff and any other agent that provides medical services to members to make the necessary changes to guarantee access to rights.

In this way, the authorities in charge of the application must develop a common protocol so that health teams can face cases of perinatal death, where the certification guidelines and a final destination for the body that is respectful of the body are mentioned. private and family life.

The responsibility was even added to generate training and education programs on the subject, the promotion of the treatment of perinatal death in undergraduate and postgraduate educational curricula linked to health and the development of prevention, education and promotion programs that are aimed at reducing perinatal death rates.

Finally, for institutions, medical professionals and/or collaborators who refuse to implement the “Johanna Law” they will be sanctioned as it is a serious offense. As for the sentence, it will be established in accordance with the civil or criminal responsibility that the accused may have.