The 7
Broader struggle for women’s rights
The 7
El Salvador
• Pacific coast of Central America with land area >20,000 km2
• 6.34 million people
• Birth Rate 17.44%
(Canada 10.29%)
• Infant Mortality Rate 19.66% (Canada 4.71%)
• Life Expectancy 73.69 years
(Canada 81.67 years)
• Density 341 persons/km2
(Canada 3.79 persons/km2)
• 1970s – civil war
• 1988 Hurricane Mitch (30,000 homeless) and 2001 earthquakes
damaged 20% of buildings
The 7
El Salvador - Abortion
• Abortion banned in all circumstances (1998)
• If guilty of abortion, women (girls) face a prison sentence of two to
eight years.
• If sentenced to homicide, jail could be life
• Due to ban, clandestine abortions are common (19,290 between
2005 and 2008) with >25% girls under 18. 11% died
• 74% favour abortion when a woman’s life is at risk (2013)
• Highest rate of teenage pregnancy (23%) in Latin America. There is
no sex education and limited access to contraceptives. Girls
between 9 and 18 years old represent 36% of hospital births.
• 1,346 rapes reported in 2013 (66% girls under 15).
• Only one women’s refuge in country
The 7
Canada – Abortion
• No laws restricting abortions
• Liberalized laws in 1969; struck down in 1988
• 66% are performed in hospitals (decreasing yearly).
• Provincial governments required to fund abortions in clinics.
Quebec and Nova Scotia provide partial funding, while New
Brunswick and Manitoba do not provide any funding. NOTE: Nova
Scotia pays $130,000/year in penalties.
• Only medical procedure in Canada that does not meet the basic
requirements of the Canada Health Act (i.e., insured medical
services must be universal, accessible, portable, and
comprehensive).
• In some areas, an abortion is difficult to obtain or unavailable (e.g.,
PEI, New Brunswick)
The 7
El Salvador - Abortion
• Women who miscarriage have been charged with aggravated homicide, a
charge which can bring a sentence of up to 50 years in prison.
•
Women who miscarriage are taken to the police, not a hospital.
•
Girls who have been raped cannot seek a termination; yet, the rapist or
abuser can go unpunished. The victims are denied rights and prevented
from making decisions that affect their health, safety and livelihood.
•
In 2014, National Civil Police reported 16 women were charged with the
crime of abortion. Six were under 17 years old. Since 1998, 129 women
have been jailed under the country's abortion law. Most are poor
(economic and education) and inadequately legally represented. Evidence
was also lacking.
The 7
El Salvador - Abortion
• All abortions are illegal, and a culture of incriminating women
has developed
• To terminate a pregnancy in silence, women have resorted to
acids and hooks. An easy to obtain chemical is caustic soda in a
pill form. The acid may end the pregnancy, but in the process, it
also can destroy arterial walls and uncontrolled bleeding. The
dilemma: Do you let the person die or take her to a hospital
where she is turned over to the police?
• Another option is suicide. 57% of teen deaths are suicide
related to pregnancy.
The 7
El Salvador - Abortion
• In 2013, a seriously ill 22-year-old woman, referred to as Beatriz,
was denied an abortion by El Salvador's Supreme Court despite the
fact that continuing with the pregnancy would almost certainly kill
both her and the foetus.
•
Beatriz suffered from lupus and kidney failure. The foetus had
serious medical problems.
•
The case drew international attention, but nothing was done for
two months
•
In violation of the law, doctors performed a Caesarean section
after Beatriz started having contractions.
•
The baby died five hours after the C-section. Beatriz was not
charged….but this outcome is not the norm
The 7
El Salvador - Abortion
• Aid workers are also targeted.
• “People say we are committing a crime by raising awareness,
supporting women and advocating on their behalf. We
respond by saying we are fighting to change an unfair law,” said
a leader of Citizen’s Group for the Decriminalization of
Abortion.
• Health care providers who assist face up to 12 years in prison.
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El Salvador - Abortion
• On 21 January 2015, the first woman jailed for homicide under the
abortion ban law, Carmen Guadalupe Vasquez, was pardoned
•
In 2007, Vasquez suffered major complications during her
pregnancy. Her child died shortly after birth. She was sentenced
to 30 years in prison for homicide. She spent seven years in jail.
•
The campaign to secure her release took four years.
•
17 other women are waiting for a court review of their sentences.
The 7
El Salvador – Abortion
Is the El Salvador complete ban torture?
NOTE: Seven Latin American countries totally ban abortions