The Guardian Examines El Salvador’s Strict Abortion Laws, Impacts On Women

The Guardian: El Salvador: where women are thrown into jail for losing a baby
“…Civil rights groups say 17 women in El Salvador have been wrongfully imprisoned for miscarriages. Countless more have been jailed for having abortions. While several other countries in the region have relaxed their anti-abortion laws, El Salvador has moved backwards. … As a result, abortion — or miscarriages treated as suspected abortions — can now be regarded as murder, which can carry a 40-year sentence…” (Watts, 12/17).

The Guardian: El Salvador: ‘I had a miscarriage. The judge accused me of murder’ — video
“For Salvadoran women who suffer a miscarriage, the physical and emotional trauma of losing a child can be the start of a life-changing ordeal consisting of poor medical treatment, arrest without recourse to legal advice, and imprisonment for up to 40 years. Women who have fallen foul of El Salvador’s punitive anti-abortion law, and are either serving time or have completed a prison sentence, describe the torment of life behind bars and reveal how their lives have been altered forever” (Baqué et al., 12/17).

The KFF Daily Global Health Policy Report summarized news and information on global health policy from hundreds of sources, from May 2009 through December 2020. All summaries are archived and available via search.

KFF Headquarters: 185 Berry St., Suite 2000, San Francisco, CA 94107 | Phone 650-854-9400
Washington Offices and Barbara Jordan Conference Center: 1330 G Street, NW, Washington, DC 20005 | Phone 202-347-5270

www.kff.org | Email Alerts: kff.org/email | facebook.com/KFF | twitter.com/kff

The independent source for health policy research, polling, and news, KFF is a nonprofit organization based in San Francisco, California.