No menu items!

COSTA RICA'S LEADING ENGLISH LANGUAGE NEWSPAPER

HomeCentral AmericaEl SalvadorLandmark Abortion Rights Case to Be Heard by Inter-American Court

Landmark Abortion Rights Case to Be Heard by Inter-American Court

For the first time in its history, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) will hear a case this week about the legality of denying a woman access to abortion services.

A woman identified only as “Beatriz” is symbolically squaring off against the Central American country of El Salvador, which enforces an absolute ban on the procedure regardless of the fetus’s health or any risk to the pregnant woman.

The country will be in the dock before the Costa Rica-based IACHR for alleged human rights violations and “torture” for forcing Beatriz to carry a non-viable fetus for nearly three months despite a risk to her health.

“The fact that the Court has agreed to hear this case strongly indicates… that the denial of any health service, including those that are controversial such as abortion, is a human rights violation,” said Maria Antonieta Alcalde of the Ipas reproductive rights NGO, which is among the plaintiffs. 

Beatriz, who died in a traffic accident in 2017 after the case was filed, is taking El Salvador to task for denying her an abortion despite doctors knowing she was carrying a non-viable fetus at great risk to herself.

A form of torture

In El Salvador, abortion has been prohibited since 1998 under penalty of jail time of up to eight years. Courts frequently find women guilty of the crime of aggravated homicide instead, imposing sentences that can go up to 50 years.

Beatriz suffered from an auto-immune disease when she fell pregnant for the second time in 2013 at 20, after already going through a previous complicated birth.

The fetus was found to be unviable due to a severe developmental defect, and according to court documents, Beatriz was told she could die if the pregnancy progressed.

She sought legal recourse to be allowed to get an abortion, but saw her case thrown out by the country’s Constitutional Court. She went into premature labor and the fetus died.

Gisela de Leon of the Center for Justice and International Law (Cejil), a rights NGO also among the plaintiffs, said the state had “violated (Beatriz’s) rights to life and personal integrity” by forcing her to carry the fetus for 81 days knowing it could not survive.

“We are claiming that the suffering to which she was subjected, knowing that her right to life was at risk, is a form of torture,” said De Leon. 

Beatriz’s family decided to pursue the case after her death so that “no other woman will go through what she went through,” according to her brother Humberto, 30, who withheld his surname to protect his sister’s identity.

He added his sister was a victim of a poor, marginalized upbringing which causes “such situations happening to women because they do not have access to a system that guarantees reproductive health.”

In Latin America, elective abortion is legal in Argentina, Colombia, Cuba, Uruguay, and some states in Mexico.

In several countries it is allowed in certain circumstances, such as rape or health risks, while outright bans apply also in Honduras, Nicaragua, Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

Several states in the United States have recently banned most abortions.

The IACHR will hear testimony from relatives of Beatriz and doctors who treated her. Gatherings of women are expected outside the IACHR court building in San Jose, as well as in San Salvador, capital of El Salvador.

The case will be heard over two days, with judgment expected in about six months.

Trending Now

Update: Costa Rica Shark Bite Victim is a Renowned Marine Biologist

Days after our report on the shark attack near Cocos Island, new details have emerged about the incident and the man involved. The diver,...

Heavy Rains in Costa Rica Trigger Landslides and Floods

Costa Rica faces tough conditions lately from ongoing heavy rains that have sparked deadly landslides and major flooding over the last few days. In...

El Salvador Bans Inclusive Language in Public Schools

El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele has taken another step to reshape the country's education system. On Thursday, he declared a complete ban on what...

Costa Rica’s President Clashes with TSE Over Campaign Rules

Costa Rica's President Rodrigo Chaves has publicly criticized the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) for rules that limit how the government can share information during...

Emmy-winning Salvadoran Journalist Deported from US

Salvadoran journalist Mario Guevara said Friday he was deported from the United States for reporting on the unjust arrests of migrants under President Donald...

Jane Goodall dies at 91 after transforming chimpanzee science and conservation

British primatologist Jane Goodall, who transformed the study of chimpanzees and became one of the world's most revered wildlife advocates, has died at the...
spot_img
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