In El Salvador, a woman will be jailed for 30 years for the death of her unborn child. The child died because of an obstetric emergency, says the rights group.
In this article, you’ll read:
- A Woman Will Be in Prison for 30 Years Due to an Obstetric Emergency
- Pregnancy: Few Things About Obstetric Emergencies
Woman Gets Arrested After Emergency Abortion in El Salvador
On Monday, a court in El Salvador decided to put a woman in jail for 30 years. It is for killing her unborn baby girl as the mother suffered from an obstetric emergency. “Esme,” the 28-year-old woman is a mother of a 7-year-old girl. She experienced a health emergency during her pregnancy in 2019.
In the same year, she sought assistance in a public hospital and went through an emergency abortion. However, according to the Citizen Group for the Decriminalization of abortion, she was denounced and detained.
Later on, she was convicted of homicide and handed the lengthy sentence after serving two years of pre-trial detention. According to the group, the case has been the first of its kind in the country for the last seven years.
Both the Salvadoran attorney general’s office and the country’s judicial authority did not immediately respond to the comments.
Abortion Is Illegal in El Salvador
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Only 34% of the countries across the globe allow performing an abortion based on a woman’s request. The countries include the United States, Canada, China, and primarily European countries.
Unlike the countries mentioned above, the practice of abortion is illegal in El Salvador. They consider it illegal even in cases of rape and when the woman’s health is in danger.
Rights observers continue to enforce the law, which took effect in 1998. The law indicates punishment for women having miscarriages, stillbirths, or other obstetrics.
Morena Herrera, the president of Citizen Group for the Decriminalization of Abortion, said in a statement, “(The ruling) is a hard blow for the road to overcome the criminalisation of obstetric emergencies that, as the Inter-American Court of Human Rights has already pointed out, must be treated as public health problems.”
The government did not immediately confirm the ruling representing a step back for the Latin American country. Aside from that, it is a ruling that attracted international condemnation for its strict abortion laws.
According to the citizen group, around 181 women who suffered from an emergency abortion were prosecuted. The law criminally prosecutes less than 200 women over the last 20 years. The conviction follows a string of decisions to release convicted women due to similar circumstances.
The “Las 17” Movement
Advocates and celebrities participate in the rally behind the “Las 17” movement in 2021. It is a movement that highlights 17 women who were convicted for suffering a miscarriage or an obstetric emergency.
The Human Rights Watch says that five of the 17 women have been released from prison. Meanwhile, the past attempts to legalise abortion in El Salvador have largely failed. Along with this, advocates of abortion hopes have voiced hope that a so-called “green wave” of law loosening restrictions on abortions in the region could influence national politics.
Obstetric Emergencies and Emergency Abortion
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Obstetric emergencies are life-threatening health problems for pregnant women and their babies. It may arise at any time during pregnancy, labour, and birth.
Along with this, hospital care is essential for all obstetric emergencies. A woman may need specialist care and an extended hospital stay. Obstetric emergencies may cause the risk of premature birth, loss of a baby, and increased risk to a woman’s health.
Obstetric emergencies during pregnancy
- Miscarriage
The loss of a baby before 20 weeks gestation. A miscarriage cannot be stopped once it has started.
- Preeclampsia
It causes severe swelling from water retention. It can lead to kidney and liver failure.
- Ectopic pregnancy
The fertilised egg implants in one of the fallopian tubes instead of the uterus (womb).
- Premature rupture of membrane (PROM)
It is where the bag of amniotic fluid breaks before contractions or labour begins.
- Placental abruption
It is where the placenta separates from the uterus before birth, causing bleeding, pain, and contractions.
- Placenta praevia
This occurs when the placenta attaches to the lower part of the uterus. It then partly or completely blocks the neck of the womb.
Signs of an Obstetric Pregnancy
Here are some symptoms that need immediate medical attention:
- Any bleeding during pregnancy is not normal
- Stomach cramps
- Dizziness
- Severe vomiting or sickness
- Severe stomach pain
- Lower back pain
- The rapid increase in blood pressure
- Blurry vision and headaches
- Sudden and significant swelling of hands, face and feet
- Fever
- Decrease in your baby’s body normal daily movement
- Regular, increasingly intense contractions before 37 weeks of pregnancy
- waters break before labour begins
- Loss of consciousness
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