Tell John Kerry to Call on El Salvador to Free #Las17
- by: Center for Reproductive Rights
- recipient: Secretary John Kerry
In El Salvador, abortion is banned entirely -- even when a woman is raped or her life is at risk. Miscarriages are often treated like homicides, as women are unfairly detained to serve up to 40-year sentences.
Teresa, a sweatshop worker from San Salvador, hadn't even realized she was pregnant when she went into early labor. The baby didn't survive, and she experienced heavy bleeding and loss of consciousness.
At the hospital, instead of receiving the care she desperately needed, Teresa was accused of having an abortion and reported to the police. She was convicted of murder and sentenced to 40 years in prison.
Tragically, Teresa is not the only one.
Right now, 15 Salvadoran women who suffered obstetric emergencies are serving sentences on murder charges. They are part of Las 17 -- a group of women with similarly tragic stories -- and their government refuses to pardon and release them.
Access to safe and legal reproductive health care, including abortion, is a fundamental right, not a crime. We can no longer ignore this ongoing human rights. Please add your name to ask John Kerry to call on the government of El Salvador now to free Teresa and the rest of Las 17
Dear Secretary Kerry,
We are writing to alert you to a significant ongoing violation of women's human rights in El Salvador.
That nation's total ban on abortion has led to women being unfairly detained and jailed in deplorable conditions, has caused some to serve 40-year sentences for obstetric emergencies, including miscarriages, and has resulted in the deaths of numerous women. As people who care deeply about human rights and the reproductive rights of women, we ask that you take immediate steps to address this ongoing human rights violation.
El Salvador criminalizes abortion in all circumstances. There are no exceptions even in cases in which the pregnancy results from rape or incest, or places the woman's health in jeopardy, or poses a risk to her life. In other words, the law of El Salvador grotesquely requires a woman to accept her own death, rather than undergo a life-saving abortion.
"Manuela," for example, was a 33-year-old Salvadoran mother of two who was convicted for aggravated homicide and sentenced to 30 years in prison after suffering an obstetric emergency. When she arrived at the hospital seeking emergency medical care, she was shackled and accused of murder. She was convicted and sentenced without an adequate defense and without the right to appeal the decision. Imprisoned and separated from her children, Manuela died in prison in 2010 from Hodgkin's lymphoma.
Today, 17 other women - "Las 17" - share stories similar to Manuela's. They come from poor communities and have little or no access to quality maternal health care. All of them have been convicted of murder for pregnancy-related crimes and 15 of them are currently serving sentences up to 40 years. They are in prison for obstetric emergencies including miscarriages, stillbirths and precipitate labor. Like Manuela's case, all of these cases raise serious concerns about the women's due process rights and respect for their human rights.
Access to safe and legal reproductive health care, including abortion, is a fundamental right, not a crime. This ongoing human rights violation can no longer be ignored.
We ask that you raise this issue with Salvadoran authorities and urge them to review the cases of women unfairly prosecuted as a result of the country's devastating total abortion ban. We also urge you to encourage Salvadoran authorities to work toward changing these laws, which violate women's dignity and autonomy.
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