WUNRN
EL SALVADOR – NO
PARDON – YOUNG WOMAN TO SERVE 30 YEARS IN PRISON FOR MISCARRIAGE
By Leslie Salzillo – January 19, 2015
Last week, a young woman in El Salvador who goes by the
alias name of 'Guadalupe,' had very high hopes, and was all but assured she
would receive a pardon from her 30-year sentence. She had already served seven
years, starting in her teens. Her alleged crime? Fetal homicide. She miscarried,
and was charged with murder.
Her pardon didn't come. Guadalupe's freedom was one vote
short. Her fate was determined by a Right-Wing congressional majority of 43-42.
I can't write about something like this and not feel like I've been punched in
the stomach again and again. Guadalupe represents every woman. This is what
happens when abortion is illegal. El Salvador is known to be one of the worst
countries in the world for women's reproductive rights.
According to Tim Rogers at
Fusion.net:
All
forms of abortion are illegal in El Salvador. And though there was no
indication that Guadalupe, a mother of one, intentionally terminated her
pregnancy, the doctors snitched her out to save themselves from any criminal
liability.
Guadalupe, who never saw the inside of a fifth grade
classroom, was interrogated in her hospital bed without a lawyer. The trial was
brutal and swift. Before Guadalupe knew what was happening, she was sentenced
to 30 years in jail and thrown behind bars with convicted murders.
If
Guadalupe’s story sounds crazy, that’s because it is. Not only does El Salvador
have one of the most draconian anti-abortion laws in the world, but authorities
there apply the tyrannical law with an aggressiveness that borders on
obsessive. Dozens of Salvadoran women — mostly young, and all poor — are behind
bars for homicide
At least 29 women are behind bars in El Salvador for abortion/miscarriage. A group of them called, #Las17, are serving between 12-40 years with the oldest being 29, reports Rogers.
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Amnesty International
http://us2.campaign-archive1.com/?u=dc0e5c54b3684d2b83785f42a&id=8f62b423b9&e=0b5eef7d71
El Salvador - Miscarriage Is Not a Crime!
The total ban on abortion violates the rights of women and girls.
If
you are a woman or girl in El Salvador, it doesn’t matter if you’re pregnant as
a result of rape, whether you’re a child, or whether the pregnancy is a risk to
your life: the government demands you give birth. El Salvador’s
total ban on abortion denies women and girls the ability to make
decisions about their own bodies, stripping them of their physical and
mental integrity and autonomy, even putting their lives at risk and imprisoning
them for miscarriage.
As Amnesty USA, we have collected 23,295 signatures to end the total
abortion ban-- and we know from our partners in El Salvador that we need
to keep up the pressure-- will you sign today and
spread the word to help us get to 24,000 signatures?
The total abortion ban not only denies women and girls the rights to make
choices about their health, but it has led to the arrest and imprisonment
of women who have suffered miscarriages—some have been jailed
for 50 years! What's more, the ban has also led to a staggering rate
of clandestine abortions, and suicide accounts for 57% of the death of pregnant
females aged 10-19.
Amnesty is deeply concerned about the following human rights issues:
- Criminalization of abortion even in cases of rape,
incest or the health/life of mother
- Criminalization of women suffering miscarriages
- Insufficient evidence and unfair trials leading to
imprisonment; women denied due process in court
- Lack of access to healthcare, information, and
education
- Rape survivors forced to endure more violence
El Salvador’s abortion law results from a systemic denial of the
human rights of girls and women, and it is killing them. Please sign our
petition, and share it with your friends on Facebook, Twitter, and
other social media. We've included sample messages at the end of the
email.
With your help, we can ensure women and girls in El Salvador have the right to
make decisions about their health and bodies and that no girl or woman dies
because she is denied her human rights.