The Fight for a New World
Vanessa Vaquerano
Writing 2
Josh Mehler
November 10, 2014

1
Imagine you are woman living in El Salvador. Imagine you are pregnant with your second child. Imagine you have a miscarriage one night and are sent to the hospital.
Imagine you wake up to police investigators accusing you of terminating your pregnancy.
Imagine you being sentenced to thirty years in prison for this. If you’re name is Cristina
Quintanilla, you don’t have to imagine.
1
Like Quintanilla and many others, they don’t have to imagine. It’s a reality for them. Currently, El Salvador has one of the strictest abortion laws in the world; it’s banned completely. Women in El Salvador have been restricted from their human rights completely for years. Over the years, the abortion law has gone under scrutiny for their inhumane rulings. As other countries in different parts of the world began to liberate abortion laws, El Salvador fails to make progress. This is not to say it has to stay this way. Activism, along with its support, plays a crucial role in the progression of decriminalizing abortion laws in El Salvador.
Many of these laws are based on religious fundamentalism. El Salvador is predominantly a Catholic nation
2
so it’s no surprise that they adhere to? the Church’s position. The strict abortion laws can be traced to Pope Paul IV’s encyclical called the
Human Vitae (what’s the date of this publication?).
The letter states its “opposition to the most effective methods of contraception”.
3 However (a better transition word), abortion hasn’t always been a crime in El Salvador. It wasn’t until 1998 that a penal code was made that “eliminated all legal grounds for abortion and penalized new forms of inducing
1
Beaubien, Jason, and John Poole. "Why A Teenage Mom Was Jailed In El Salvador
After A Stillbirth." NPR. September 22, 2014.
2
Cheney, David M..2005. “Statistics by Country: by Percentage Catholic”, 1996-2005 . doi: v2.3.4
3
McCoy, Terry, ed. The Dynamics Of Population Policy in Latin America . Cambridge,
Mass.: Ballinger Publishing Company, 1974.

2 abortion”.
4
A year later, El Salvador’s government passed a constitutional amendment that protected “the right to life from the moment of conception”.
5 With such strict laws, the consequences are high. If convicted of purposely terminating one’s pregnancy, the defendant can face up to 8 years in prison under the nation’s current law.
6
This is the case even if a woman didn’t actually self-induce the pregnancy. Unfortunately, the
Salvadorian government often convicts women for “aggravated homicide” where women are sentenced to up fifty years in prison.
7 The harsh penalties lead innocent women to face jail time or in other cases, lead them to serious health complications.
There are many stories involving abortion prosecutions. Echoing Quintanilla’s experience (?), there have been numerous publicized prosecutions against women. In
2010, a woman named “Veronica” became pregnant but was not aware of it at the time because she continued to get her period and never felt discomfort. One day, she suffered a head injury after fainting that sent her to the emergency room. She was convicted of
“aggravated homicide” for the death of her child and ultimately sentenced to 30 years in prison. As of early 2013, she still resides in Ilopango prison.
8
Similarly there was another case where a student in high school went to a public hospital due to loss of blood. Like,
“Veronica”, she was not aware she was pregnant until she experienced the obstetric emergency. Police also accused her of committing an abortion. She was sent to jail just
4
Persecuted: Political Process and Legislation on Abortion in El Salvador . Center for
Reproductive Rights, 2001.
5
Ibid., 11-12.
6
On the Brink of Death: Violence Against Women and the Abortion Law in El Salvador .
London: Amnesty International, 2014.
7
Ibid., 11-13
8 Marginalized, Persecuted, and Imprisoned: The Effects of El Salvador’s Total
Criminalization of Abortion. United States of America: Center for Reproductive Rights,
2014.

3 fifteen days after checking in to the hospital. Fortunately for her, she was let go in
January 2010, due to lack of evidence.
9
A more profound story that has definitely sparked controversy was the case of
“Manuela.
10
I would instead start this with “The Center for Reproductive Rights stated in a report (?) that “ From the moment Manuela arrived at the hospital seeking emergency health care, slipping in and out of consciousness and hemorrhaging, doctors treated her as if she had attempted an abortion and immediately called the police”, stated the center for
Reproductive Rights.
11
Manuela was sentenced to thirty years in prison while being denied the opportunity to meet with a lawyer. The judge who was overseeing the case stated, to the shock of most, that her main priority should’ve been to save her baby, which she failed to do. While in prison, it was discovered that her visible tumors were linked to Hodgkin’s lymphoma. The disease was most likely the cause for the death of her child. On top of not been given the right to a lawyer, Manuela was not given appropriate medical treatment. She died in prison due to the lack of treatment.
More recently, “ t he country's supreme court prohibited an abortion for Beatriz, who suffers from lupus and kidney failure and whose lawyers said the pregnancy was threatening her life”.
12 After a last minute grant to allow for a C-section, “Beatriz” survived after being on the brink of death.
These cases have definitely caught the attention of people and more importantly, human right’s activists and groups.
9
Ibid., 11-12
10
“Center for Reproductive Rights Files Case Revealing the Horrifying Reality of El
Salvador's Ban on Abortion. Center for Reproductive Rights”. March 21, 2012. Accessed
November 4, 2014.
11
Ibid.
12
"Baby Born to El Salvador Woman Denied Abortion Dies after C-section." The
Guardian. June 4, 2013. Accessed November 10, 2014.

4
Many coalitions and campaigns have ignited since the criminalized abortion laws.
Many come from El Salvador and others come from different parts of the world.
Regardless, these groups have the potential to create change for the women in the country. Citizen’s Association for the Decriminalization of Abortion, a local campaign group in El Salvador, advocates for the legalization of abortion in El Salvador.
13
They are currently one of the most active groups fighting for reform. Many of their campaigns support women who have been targeted by the Salvadorian Penal codes. Their ultimate goal is to present these abortion cases to national court level. For instance, in April of last year, the group presented Beatriz’s case before the Inter-American Court for Human
Rights. Along with this story, Women’s Link Worldwide, an international non-profit organization that also works to stimulate women’s rights, created a fund collection for
Beatriz.
14 Together, along with the support of doctors, they helped change the ruling for
Beatriz and allowed for a cesarean section to save her life.
Many organizations also focus primarily on awareness. The Feminist Collective for Local Development is another feminist organization hoping to create change. They carry out workshops and ultimately educate women on the prevention of teen pregnancy.
The group built the Legal-based, a network to raise awareness of the need to change the abortion laws in El Salvador. The movements lead to the creation of the September 28 campaign- Day for the Decriminalization of A (if this is a title?) bortion in Latin America and the Caribbean. The campaign, undertaken by the International Campaign for
Women’s Right to Safe Abortion, addresses numerous issues in relation to abortion: “as a
13
Lakhani, Nina. "El Salvador: Where Women May Be Jailed for Miscarrying." BBC
News. October 17, 2013. Accessed November 2, 2014.
14
Staff, RHRC. "Urgent: Help Beatriz Fight for Her Life." RH Reality Check. May 30,
2013. Accessed November 9, 2014.

public health concern, because of its impact on women’s health; as a matter of human rights and democracy…” 15 In addition to these global campaigns and organizations,
Amnesty International begins to show the influence these groups obtain.
Amnesty International’s website states that their “vision is for every person to enjoy all the rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international human rights standards”.
16
In their recent report, On the Brink of Death:
Violence Against Women and the Abortion Ban in El Salvador, the group outlines the severity of the abortion ban. The report calls on the Salvadoran government to take legislative action in eliminating the current law. They urge the country to grant legal and abortion to women especially in cases of rape or to preserve the life of an individual.
Amnesty International has gained the support from twelve other countries that are also concerned about the strict laws. The support has also led to the United Nations Universal
Periodic Review (UPR)
17
confrontation with the nation. Just like Amnesty International,
UPR has given strong suggestions for reform in El Salvador. El Salvador will have until
March 2015 to consider which laws to adopt.
18
On the other hand, the issue doesn’t come without obstacles. As long as there are human right’s activists and other campaigns in support for the decriminalization of abortion, there will also be those who support the law. Advocates of El Salvador's
5
15
Ouseley, Laura, Olivia Kirkpatrick, Francesca Romita, and Virginia Dellavalle.
"Maternal Health, Reproductive Rights and the Criminalisation of Abortion ." Central
America Women's Network. September 2012.
16
Amnesty International. On the Brink of Death: Violence Against Women and the
Abortion Law in El Salvador .
17
UPR is a mechanism of the Human Rights Council that reviews human rights obligations in member states of the United Nations.
18
Countries Urge El Salvador to Change Repressive Abortion Laws.
Amnesty
International. October 28, 2014.

6 abortion ban include numbers in the “Catholic Church, National Republic Alliance party and the influential lobby group Sí a la Vida (Yes to Life)”.
19 Since El Salvador is a predominately Catholic country, most people would argue that it’s going to be difficult to reform the current laws. “Impossible,” some will say, but is it really adequate to assume reform is unlikely? Advocates against El Salvador’s legislation would say no. The Civil
Rights Movement, Affirmative action, Gay Marriage Rights and the liberation of abortion laws in dozens of countries prove that it is not possible to change legislative laws.
20
Change is just a matter of time. Change is inevitable when there are people who take are dedicated in taking action.
On this note, I’ll end it off with a part of one of my favorite speeches. In the
1940’s, Charlie Chaplin produced a satirical piece on fascism. In his speech Chaplin exclaimed:
…You, the people, have the power to make this life free and beautiful, to make this life a wonderful adventure. Then- in the name of democracy- let us use that power- let us all unite. Let us fight for a new world- a decent world […] in the name of democracy, let us all unite!
21
Now, more than ever the people’s voices are prevalent. With technology and resources alike, people are able to educate other about issues just like the women in El Salvador are currently facing. Ultimately, it is up to the people to unite and create a better world.
Promoting and supporting reform for the decriminalization of abortion laws is a much need boost. Just look at the twelve nations calling on El Salvador. With out campaigns
19 Provost, Claire. "El Salvador: Meet the Women Who Dare to Challenge the Antiabortion State." The Guardian. April 17, 2014.
20 A map from "The World's Abortion Laws 2014." The World's Abortion Laws
2014. January 1, 2013.
21
Chaplin, Charlie, Paulette Goddard. 1940. The Great Dictator.

7 like the
Citizen’s Association for the Decriminalization of Abortion, it’s hard to see if
Beatriz would have still lived to this day. Activism comes in many forms. Whether one is actively campaigning, boycotting or simply promoting a sticker on their laptop, the support that is gathered from each of these groups creates progress and change. If the world continues scrutinize and challenge the abortion ban in El Salvador, the nation will have no choice than to adopt new laws. Time will tell. Stay tuned for El Salvador’s response in March.

8
Reflection
Writing Project 2 has definitely given me my fair share of headaches. For one, i found it difficult for me to even find a good research question I actually wanted to write about.
Most of the research questions I developed were often too broad to write a paper on.
After finally finding a topic of interest that was specific enough, the next difficult issue I had was changing my focus. I think one of the key terms to describe this research paper is patience.
Towards the beginning of the process I found myself rushing what I wanted to write about. I thought, hey maybe ill focus more on the laws in El Salvador or hmmm should I focus the legislative system’s principles that are based on the Roman Catholic
Church? Should I focus on the women that are being harmed from the ban on abortion?
Or should I focus on what organizations are doing to make a change?
I think the beauty of a research project is that your main focus doesn’t just come to you in a snap. The point of a research project is to, well, research and learn about new issues regarding the subject.
Once I acquired more information on the abortion laws in El Salvador, I found the perfect thesis I wanted to talk about. Patience and time is definitely a key determinant in this writing process. If I were to pick another word to describe this writing process I would have to choose meticulous- to be careful and precise. In order to write this paper I had to be careful. Careful in the way that I had to annotate anything I used in my paper. This was probably the most overwhelming part for me. Often times I would find a resource that I’d use in my paper, and then totally forget to annotate it. It would especially suck when I lost the resource. I would just discard what I had written and just find a whole different source to cite from, which was super unfortunate for me. I will admit that this was definitely some good practice. Towards the end of the process I felt more comfortable using footnotes and annotating. I also had to make sure I was being precise. I had to focus on supporting my thesis and not stray away from it. There was a couple times where I felt like I was going off topic. For example when I started talking about the different campaigns. I think once I started talking about the different campaigns globally, rather than just in El Salvador, I started to throw myself off. I do think I did a decent job of keeping it short and using it to introduce Amnesty International, which is hugely involved in finding ways to change the laws in the country. Overall, I think I do okay on not going off topic. If I were to make any revisions, I would try to add more details on what campaigns and organizations are doing and go more in depth on how support leads to reform. To do this, I would probably add statistics on how support of activism leads to change. On the other hand, this might be too much.
In conclusion, research papers are pretty cool once I got past the small things. Not only did I get to learn about a certain topic but I have also learned how to use different sources to my advantage in supporting my claims. It’s also nice because I was able to develop my own sort of claim/argument with out it being an opinion piece.

9
Bibliography
"Baby Born to El Salvador Woman Denied Abortion Dies after C-section." The
Guardian. June 4, 2013. Accessed November 10, 2014. http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jun/04/baby-el-salvador-womanabortion-dies.
Beaubien, Jason, and John Poole. "Why A Teenage Mom Was Jailed In El Salvador After
A Stillbirth." NPR. September 22, 2014. Accessed October 30, 2014. http://www.npr.org/blogs/goatsandsoda/2014/09/22/320323339/why-a-teenagemom-was-jailed-in-el-salvador-for-a-miscarriage.
"Center for Reproductive Rights Files Case Revealing the Horrifying Reality of El
Salvador's Ban on Abortion." Center for Reproductive Rights. March 21, 2012.
Accessed November 4, 2014. http://reproductiverights.org/en/press-room/centerfor-reproductive-rights-files-case-revealing-the-horrifying-reality-of-el-salvador.
Chaplin, Charlie, Paulette Goddard. 1940. The Great Dictator. [United States]: Charles
Chaplin Film Corp.
Cheney, David M..2005. Statistics by Country: by Percentage Catholic, 1996-2005. doi: v2.3.4
"Countries Urge El Salvador to Change Repressive Abortion Laws." Amnesty
International. October 28, 2014. Accessed October 25, 2014. http://www.amnesty.org/en/news/countries-urge-el-salvador-change-repressiveabortion-laws-2014-10-28.
Lakhani, Nina. "El Salvador: Where Women May Be Jailed for Miscarrying." BBC
News. October 17, 2013. Accessed November 2, 2014. http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-24532694.
Marginalized, Persecuted, and Imprisoned: The Effects of El Salvador’s Total
Criminalization of Abortion. United States of America: Center for Reproductive
Rights, 2014.
McCoy, Terry, ed. The Dynamics Of Population Policy in Latin America . Cambridge,
Mass.: Ballinger Publishing Company, 1974.
On the Brink of Death: Violence Against Women and the Abortion Law in El Salvador .
London: Amnesty International, 2014.
Ouseley, Laura, Olivia Kirkpatrick, Francesca Romita, and Virginia Dellavalle.
"Maternal Health, Reproductive Rights and the Criminalisation of Abortion."

10
Central America Women's Network. September 1, 2012. Accessed November 9,
2014. http://www.cawn.org/assets/Maternal Health paper_final.pdf.
Provost, Claire. "El Salvador: Meet the Women Who Dare to Challenge the Anti-abortion
State." The Guardian. April 17, 2014. Accessed October 31, 2014. http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2014/apr/17/beatriz-caseresistance-el-salvador-abortion-law
Staff, RHRC. "Urgent: Help Beatriz Fight for Her Life." RH Reality Check. May 30,
2013. Accessed November 9, 2014. http://rhrealitycheck.org/article/2013/05/30/urgent-help-beatriz-fight-for-her-life/.
"The World's Abortion Laws 2014." The World's Abortion Laws 2014. January 1, 2013.
Accessed November 11, 2014. http://worldabortionlaws.com/map/ .
Vanessa:
That was one great essay—provocative, well-researched, well-organized, and expertly written—I am very pleased and very impressed. Excellent work. Here’s the part where I explain areas for revision, but, beyond my marginal comments, there’s not much I would suggest beyond what you’ve already suggested in your reflection. Your work with Chicago style is also very well done. Wonderful!
10/10