Young woman who had an abortion in El Salvador is sentenced to 50 years in prison
Photo: R/Jessica Orellana
A Salvadoran court has sentenced a 21yearold woman, who had an abortion after an emergency obstetrics, to 50 years in prison for the crime of aggravated murder, an organization that defends her said Monday in one of the countries with some of the toughest laws against abortion.
According to the Citizens Group for the Decriminalization of Abortion report, the woman identified as Lesly Ramírez had an emergency on the night of June 17, 2020 while she was at home delivering her unborn baby about five months ago .
The 19yearold’s family and neighbors called the police to take her to a public hospital in San Miguel department, the NGO said.
On June 26, 2020, a coroner ordered Ramírez’s arrest, although she was absent from the hearing due to her poor health. In the middle of last week, a court sentenced her to 50 years in prison for the crime of aggravated murder.
“Women’s organizations reject the court decision and will appeal. This is the first time in history that the maximum penalty has been imposed since abortion was outright criminalized,” the feminist organization said in a statement.
However, prosecutors argued in a statement that the severe sentence was imposed because the young woman murdered the newborn after inflicting multiple wounds on her neck with a knife.
Although the “green tide” in Latin America in the quest for access to legal and safe abortion has advanced in recent years, the procedure is allowed without restriction in only a few countries.
El Salvador is one of four Latin American countries, along with Nicaragua, Honduras and the Dominican Republic, to ban abortion without exception.