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San Salvador (AFP) – The Justice of El Salvador released three women who suffered “health emergencies” during their pregnancies and who were imprisoned under the strict laws against abortion in the country, reported this Thursday a group that defends the decriminalization of abortion.
“Three of the Salvadoran women who were unjustly convicted of suffering health emergencies during their pregnancy have been released from prison and will be reunited with their families,” the Citizen Group for the Decriminalization of Therapeutic, Ethical and Eugenic Abortion (ACDATEE) said in a statement. ).
The three women, who were released this Thursday, were identified by ACDATEE solely by their names: Karen, Kathy and Evelyn. All three were serving prison terms accused of aggravated homicide after suffering different obstetric emergencies that led to spontaneous abortions.
As an Accdate leader, Morena Herrera, explained to AFP, the three women “had their prison sentence commuted.”
Karen served six years in prison, Kathy eight and Evelyn 13, Herrera said, without specifying how many years in prison each of them had been sentenced to.
“It is a joy for all of us who have been fighting for the liberation of all women who have been unjustly imprisoned for suffering obstetric emergencies under this harsh and inhumane criminal law,” Herrera added.
After their release, the women were taken by women’s rights organizations, including ACDATEE, to meet with their families.
We will continue to fight for the freedom of the rest of the women who are still in prison for similar causes
The Salvadoran penal code prohibits abortion in all cases and establishes penalties of up to 8 years in prison. However, prosecutors and judges classify abortion cases, including involuntary ones, as “aggravated homicide”, punishable by up to 50 years in prison.
Under current legislation, at least fifteen women who sought assistance in public hospitals for obstetric emergencies were charged with aggravated homicide and are serving prison terms.
“The three of them will have the opportunity to spend a happy Christmas with their families, but we will continue to fight for the freedom of the rest of the women who are still in prison for causes similar to those of the three women who saw their freedom today,” Herrera concluded.
Currently, different organizations for the defense of women’s rights maintain a campaign in which they request the president, Nayib Bukele, to intercede so that other women imprisoned for suffering obstetric emergencies are released.
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