Teodora, mother of an 11-year-old boy, was expecting a new baby. She was at work when she started experiencing increasingly severe pain. She went into labour, and was unconscious when she gave birth.
When she came round, bleeding profusely, her baby was dead. Police arrested her as she lay in a pool of blood.
She is now serving 30 years in prison for 'aggravated homicide.'
In El Salvador, women who miscarry or suffer a stillbirth during pregnancy are routinely suspected of having had an 'abortion'.
Abortion any circumstance is a crime in El Salvador, even in cases of rape, incest, or where a woman's life is at risk. This makes women afraid to seek help with pregnancy-related problems, leading inevitably to more preventable deaths.
Teodora's trial was deeply flawed. She was presumed guilty and, being from a poor family, could not afford an effective legal team to represent her.
Call on El Salvador's Minister of Justice to release Teodora immediately.
Dear Minister of Justice,
I am very concerned for Teodora del Carmen Vásquez, who is currently serving a 30 year prison sentence for aggravated homicide, after suffering a still-birth at work. She was presumed guilty of having an "abortion" rather than the potential victim of pregnancy complications.
I call on you to ensure Teodora del Carmen Vásquez is immediately released.
Please release all other women incarcerated for pregnancy-related complications who have exhausted other legal remedies.
[Your comment here]
Yours sincerely,
[Your name]
