No menu items!

COSTA RICA'S LEADING ENGLISH LANGUAGE NEWSPAPER

HomeLatin AmericaCentral AmericaWoman in El Salvador is Acquitted of Murder after Childbirth Death

Woman in El Salvador is Acquitted of Murder after Childbirth Death

A Salvadoran woman facing a 30-year prison sentence for aggravated homicide after her baby died in an out-of-hospital birth has been acquitted, a women’s rights organization said Thursday. 

El Salvador has had a blanket abortion ban since 1998 — including in cases of rape or high risk to the mother — and women who seek medical help for complications with their pregnancy are often sent to jail on suspicion of having attempted the procedure. 

While terminating a pregnancy carries an eight-year maximum sentence, judges in the country routinely find women guilty of “aggravated homicide,” punishable by up to 50 years in prison.

The case in question dealt with 22-year-old Katia, who went into labor and delivered her baby in the bathroom of her home in Ahuachapan city in 2019, the Citizens’ Association for the Decriminalization of Therapeutic, Ethical and Eugenic Abortion (ACDATEE) said in a statement. 

Katia was then transferred to a hospital where her daughter died, and the staff reported the case to the police. She was provisionally detained and then charged with aggravated homicide. 

ACDATEE said the court in Ahuachapan “declared a definitive dismissal of the criminal action against Katia”.

The group added that Katia had received a “provisional dismissal” two years earlier, as the prosecution was unable to produce any evidence against her, but the Attorney General’s Office had appealed the decision earlier this year. 

The court finally “granted the definitive dismissal” on October 19, ACDATEE said. 

“Once again we have managed to face and reverse the criminalization efforts, which seek to persecute, and condemn women without foundation and evidence,” said Morena Herrera from ACDATEE’s board of directors. 

Trending Now

Costa Rica Hunts for Nicaraguan Hit Squad After Exile’s Assassination

Costa Rica’s Judicial Investigation Agency (OIJ) is investigating whether a hit squad tied to Nicaragua’s Ortega-Murillo regime is targeting exiled critics on its soil....

Costa Rica’s Rare Birds at Risk as Human Activity Threatens Extinction

Costa Rica’s bare-necked umbrellabird, a striking black bird with a red throat pouch and crest, is in trouble. A new study in Nature Ecology...

Costa Rica’s Cutris Mining Bill Threatens Massive Environmental Damage

Costa Rica’s government is pushing a controversial bill that could open the entire Cutris district in San Carlos—848 square kilometers—to open-pit gold mining. The...

Costa Rica Joins U.S. Global Entry, Easing Travel for Tourists

Costa Rica took a big step forward, by officially joining the U.S. Global Entry program, a move set to make travel smoother for Costa...

A Costa Rica Love Story: From Rustic Cabina to Separate Dreams

My Tica wife and I have been together for over a quarter century. When we met, I was living a simple life here. Three...

Climate Change in Costa Rica Devastates Coffee Farms in Los Santos

In Costa Rica’s Los Santos region, famous for producing nearly half the country’s coffee, farmers are reeling from heavy losses driven by wild weather....
spot_img
Costa Rica Tours
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Travel Insurance
Costa Rica Rocking Chait
Costa Rica Travel

Latest News from Costa Rica