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International court rules against El Salvador in abortion rights case Home | El Salvador


The Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) ruled that El Salvador violated the human rights of a Salvadoran woman who was denied an abortion despite having a high-risk pregnancy in 2013.

The court ordered the Central American country to adopt “all necessary regulatory measures” so that doctors are allowed to terminate “pregnancies that pose a danger to the life and health of the woman.”

the The decision announced on Friday It also “recommended” El Salvador amend its laws to allow abortion “in cases of incompatibility of the fetus with life outside the womb, as well as when there is a threat to life and a serious risk to the health and personal safety of the mother.” .

The country has one of the most restrictive anti-abortion laws in the world: the procedure is banned in all circumstances, and women can even be charged with aggravated murder, with sentences of up to 30 to 50 years in prison.

Activists now hope the ruling will pave the way for the decriminalization of abortion in El Salvador and set an important precedent in Latin America, where the procedure is now illegal. Prohibited in all circumstances In six other countries.

Beatrice (her last name is not included in the case) was 22 years old and living in extreme poverty when she discovered a new pregnancy less than a year after giving birth to her first child. She was suffering from lupus, arthritis and kidney failure, and doctors soon discovered that the fetus was anencephaly and would not survive outside the womb.

Doctors recommended an abortion to save her life, but were unable to do so because, since the procedure has been banned in the country since 1997, healthcare professionals who perform it could face up to 12 years in prison.

Beatrice appealed to the Supreme Court, which rejected her request. This case has received international attention, and a decision by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights obligated the Salvadoran state to allow this procedure. El Salvador still refused and only allowed her to undergo an early emergency caesarean section after she became seriously ill. The fetus died five hours later.

Question and answer

Beatriz vs. El Salvador

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Beatriz, a 22-year-old rural Salvadoran woman, sought an abortion to end her pregnancy in 2013. She was suffering from lupus, arthritis and kidney damage, and an ultrasound scan in March of that year showed an 11-week-old fetus. She was carrying anencephaly, a congenital defect in the development of the brain and skull, which meant she would not survive outside the womb.

Her doctors recommended terminating the pregnancy, but abortion is illegal in El Salvador under any circumstances, so Beatriz’s lawyers sought a court order allowing the abortion to save her life.

In April, El Salvador’s Supreme Court rejected her request for an abortion. However, she went into labor on 3 June and the court allowed an emergency caesarean section after she became seriously ill; The fetus died five hours later.

In September 2013, Beatrice case It has been taken up by human rights organizations, such as the Citizens’ Alliance to Decriminalize Abortion, which has petitioned the Washington-based court. Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. She was admitted to the hospital in September 2017, a month before Beatrice’s death, at the age of 27, due to health complications after a traffic accident.

In 2020, the Commission concluded that El Salvador violated Beatriz’s rights to life, humane treatment, judicial guarantees, privacy, equality before the law, judicial protection and health. in 2022 Referred the case To the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (Inter-American Commission on Human Rights) in Costa Rica.

In March 2023, in a landmark hearing, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights considered for the first time the consequences of fully criminalizing abortion in a country.

The ruling has not yet been issued.

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In 2017, Beatrice died after being in a car accident. There was a belief among activists that her deteriorating health in 2013 somehow contributed to her death, but the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights’ decision concluded that “there is no clear and convincing evidence establishing a causal relationship” between the two cases.

Beatriz has become a symbol of how women’s lives are endangered by El Salvador’s anti-abortion law. Feminist activists and human rights defenders took her case to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.

“It’s a historic moment, but it’s also hopeful,” said Mariana Moisa, a women’s rights activist and founder of the organization. Citizens’ Alliance to Decriminalize Abortion. She believes the resolution set a “minimum” – that abortion should be allowed at least in cases where the woman’s life is at risk – “allowing us to advance in countries where the laws are more restrictive and also where there are setbacks and unrest.” Trying to undo progress.”

Morena Herrera, another prominent abortion rights activist in El Salvador, I posted a video He said: “Justice has been achieved for Beatrice and her family,” and that the decision “has broadened the horizons of hope for girls, adolescents and women on our continent, because we now envision a better present and future for all.”

The court ruled that El Salvador was responsible for “obstetric violence” and violations of “Beatriz’s health, access to justice, her rights, her personal integrity, her private life, and the right to live a life free of violence.” The decision also requires the state to pay compensation – the amount will be determined later – to Beatrice’s mother, her husband, her widower, and her son.

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights is part of the Organization of American States, which includes 35 countries, of which El Salvador is a member. In practice, there is no direct obligation on the state to change its laws.

Since 2022, the country has been subject to a controversial anti-gang state of emergency, implemented by its authoritarian and conservative president, Nayib Bukele, who has repeatedly stated that No intention to change Current abortion law in the country.

“The fact that the president doesn’t intend to decriminalize it doesn’t mean women are going to stop getting abortions, right?” said Moesa, who believes the decision could contribute to the decriminalization of abortion in El Salvador in the future.

She said: “The decision puts us socially in a dialogue about abortion, to remove it from the taboo, to understand that it is a public health issue.”

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