Sawt Falasteen - El Salvador woman freed in harsh case of birth 'criminalization'

The woman, who gave her name only as Lilian, spoke to the media Wednesday for the first time since her release in December from a 30-year jail term.

"The satisfaction is very great because despite going through a very long process, my innocence could be proved," the 28-year-old told AFP.

In 2015, Lilian gave birth in a public hospital in western El Salvador, but her baby girl suffered complications, was placed inside an incubator and died 72 hours later, her lawyer Abigail Cortez told AFP.

She was prosecuted for "aggravated homicide" after being accused of "abandonment and neglect," arguing she had failed to sufficiently take care of the fetus while pregnant.

In 2023, a court reviewed the sentence and ordered her release.

According to the Citizens Group for the Decriminalization of Abortion in El Salvador, Lilian was the last of 73 women who had been put behind bars after being convicted of "aggravated homicide" for abortions, miscarriages or other obstetric emergencies.

"We are very happy to close a cycle," the group's coordinator Mariana Moisa said, referring to a campaign that started in 2014 to mobilize international support for the women's release.

However, she said there were still about 20 cases being tried.

Salvador's penal code punishes abortion under any circumstances with a sentence of two to eight years in prison.

However, prosecutors and judges often classify cases of abortion or even miscarriages as "aggravated homicide," a crime punishable by 30 to 50 years in prison.

The harshness of the country's abortion law has come under the spotlight in recent years with cases presented in the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.

The court is currently examining the case of Beatriz, a 22-year-old woman suffering from the autoimmune disease lupus, who was 11-weeks pregnant with a fetus that had not developed a brain.

Forcing a woman to carry such a fetus to term poses severe risks to her life.

The Supreme Court denied her an abortion, however after the intervention of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, she was allowed to undergo a caesarean section at seven months pregnant and the baby died shortly thereafter.

Beatriz died in a traffic accident in 2017, but the court is being asked to rule on whether El Salvador violated her rights to life, health, and protection from inhumane treatment.

T.Ibrahim--SF-PST