'Historic moment' as El Salvador abortion case fuels hopes for expanded access across Latin America
Human rights court hears seriously ill woman denied procedure as advocates call for change in region with world’s most restrictive abortion laws
Julia Zulver in San Salvador
Fri 24 Mar 2023 03.00 EDT
Human rights activists in Latin America hope that a historic court hearing over the case of a Salvadoran woman who was denied an abortion despite her high-risk pregnancy could open the way for El Salvador to decriminalize abortions – and set an important precedent across the region.
The inter-American court of human rights (IACHR) this week considered the historic case of the woman, known as Beatriz, who was prohibited from having an abortion in 2013, even though she was seriously ill and the foetus she was carrying would not have survived outside the uterus.
The audience marked the first time that the IACHR has discussed the consequences of the country’s total criminalization of abortion.
In El Salvador, abortion is fully criminalized in all circumstances, and can be punished by up to 8 years in prison. Women can also be charged with aggravated homicide, which holds a 30- to 50-year prison sentence.
More:
https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2023/mar/24/historic-moment-as-el-salvador-abortion-case-fuels-hopes-for-expanded-access-across-latin-america
