El Salvador Frees Woman Imprisoned for Decade Under Abortion Ban
- 6 years ago
El Salvador Frees Woman Imprisoned for Decade Under Abortion Ban
15, 2018
MEXICO CITY — A Salvadoran woman who spent almost 11 years in prison under El Salvador’s ban
on abortion was freed Thursday after the country’s Supreme Court commuted her sentence.
But the Supreme Court ruled that there was insufficient evidence to show
that Ms. Vásquez had taken any action to end the pregnancy and that for "powerful reasons of justice" and "equity," she should be released.
Two bills have been introduced in El Salvador’s Congress to permit abortion in specific cases, including to save the life of the mother,
but they have yet to be considered by a congressional committee.
In 2013, the Supreme Court rejected a plea to terminate the high-risk pregnancy of a
woman whose fetus suffered an abnormality that would not have allowed it to survive.
Morena Herrera said that For me this is a sign of hope, that Teodora’s life may improve,
El Salvador is one of six countries in the Americas that ban abortion, and its courts enforce it with severe penalties on women and doctors.
15, 2018
MEXICO CITY — A Salvadoran woman who spent almost 11 years in prison under El Salvador’s ban
on abortion was freed Thursday after the country’s Supreme Court commuted her sentence.
But the Supreme Court ruled that there was insufficient evidence to show
that Ms. Vásquez had taken any action to end the pregnancy and that for "powerful reasons of justice" and "equity," she should be released.
Two bills have been introduced in El Salvador’s Congress to permit abortion in specific cases, including to save the life of the mother,
but they have yet to be considered by a congressional committee.
In 2013, the Supreme Court rejected a plea to terminate the high-risk pregnancy of a
woman whose fetus suffered an abnormality that would not have allowed it to survive.
Morena Herrera said that For me this is a sign of hope, that Teodora’s life may improve,
El Salvador is one of six countries in the Americas that ban abortion, and its courts enforce it with severe penalties on women and doctors.