El Salvador Won't Pardon Women In Prison for Abortions or Miscarriages

In January, a woman in El Salvador who’d been imprisoned for having a miscarriage was finally pardoned, having spent seven years behind bars. The woman, known as “Guadalupe,” had been charged with having an abortion, an offense which was later changed to homicide. But while Guadalupe will be officially released today, 15 other women in her situation remain in jail.

The Center for Reproductive Rights and the Agrupación Ciudadana por la Despenalización del Aborto, a group dedicated to decriminalizing abortion in El Salvador, have been working together to secure the release of 17 women who are serving 3o to 40 years sentences for having obstetric emergencies that resulted in miscarriages. Only Guadalupe has won a pardon. Another woman finished her prison sentence and was released. The Agrupación Ciudadana announced today that they have learned that the legislature will refused to review pardon applications for any of the other 15 women.

Mónica Arango, the CRR’s regional director for Latin America and the Caribbean, said in a press release that the organizations won’t stop until the women are pardoned: “The Center for Reproductive Rights will continue to shed light on the human rights violations faced by women in El Salvador, and we will not rest until the government reforms its laws to respect, protect, and fulfill women’s rights to life and health.”