Salvador: a woman sentenced to 50 years in prison after the death of her baby at birth
Women imprisoned for several years for having miscarriages after an obstetric emergency speak out for the first time to demand justice, in San Salvador, February 22, 2022 (illustration).
AFP - MARVIN RECINOS
Text by: RFI Follow
2 mins
A 23-year-old woman has been sentenced to 50 years in prison in El Salvador for aggravated homicide for giving birth to a baby girl, who survived only a few hours, in a toilet due to an obstetric emergency.
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Lesli is part of a large family of poor farmers living in a house without water or electricity.
In June 2020, she gave birth to a baby girl without realizing it in the latrines of her house.
Born alive after 37 to 40 weeks of gestation, according to the prosecution, the child survives only a few hours.
“
I felt something coming out, it was dark and I didn't see what I was pushing out
,” the 23-year-old explained at the time.
Admitted urgently to the hospital, she received three blood transfusions before being arrested.
Since 1998, the Salvadoran penal code has prohibited abortion, even in cases of rape or danger to the mother, and provides for penalties of up to eight years in prison.
However,
prosecutors and judges are requalifying cases of abortions, even involuntary ones, as "homicide
with aggravating circumstances", punishable by up to 50 years in prison.
A sentence of unprecedented severity
"
For the first time in the history of the absolute criminalization of abortion in the country, which dates back more than 20 years, it is the maximum sentence, for aggravated homicide, which has been pronounced
", points out Edward Perez, legal counsel for the Center for Reproductive Rights.
According to feminist organizations, the young woman simply suffered an obstetric emergency.
He also underlines that this decision marks a hardening in El Salvador, which seemed rather to move towards more tolerance.
“
Unfortunately we are facing a serious human rights violation, which shows that arbitrary detention is still used against women who suffer from obstetric emergencies in El Salvador,
he regrets.
It can also be noted that this is the second conviction since the beginning of the year, while several women have been released recently.
These releases initially appeared as a form of progress towards the recognition of women's reproductive rights.
So we are, once again, faced with a change in trend, towards more criminalization against them.
»
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