• About
    • Board of Directors
    • Staff
    • Meet our Donors
    • News
  • Issues
    • Safety
    • Opportunity
    • Reporting
    • Recognition
    • Equity
  • Programs
    • Reporting Fellowships
      • Elizabeth Neuffer Fellowship
      • ¡Exprésate! LGBTQI+ Reporting Initiative
      • Gender Justice Reporting Initiative
      • Global Health Reporting Initiative
      • Round Earth Media
    • Grants & Funds
      • Fund For Women Journalists
      • Fund for Indigenous Journalists: Reporting on MMIWG2T
      • Kari Howard Fund for Narrative Journalism
      • Kim Wall Memorial Fund
      • Reproductive Rights Reporting Fund
      • Reproductive Health, Rights and Justice in the Americas
    • Physical & Digital Safety
      • Online Abuse and Harassment
      • Hostile Environment Training
      • Next Gen Safety Trainers
      • Women in Politics and Media
    • Mentorship & Professional Development
      • Gwen Ifill Mentorship Program
      • Fellowship Program for Afghan Women Journalists in Exile
    • Emergency Assistance
      • Emergency Fund for Women Journalists
      • Black Journalists Therapy Relief Fund
      • Alex Duval Smith Memorial Fund
    • Past Programs
  • Reporting
  • Community
  • Awards
    • Anja Niedringhaus Award
    • Courage in Journalism Award
    • Gwen Ifill Award
    • Annenberg Justice for Women Journalists Award
  • Resources
    • Self Care & Trauma
    • Research
    • Impact Reports
    • Webinars
  • Search
Search Donate
Reporting

Criminalizing Abortion: Serving 30 Years For A Miscarriage

May 15, 2018 | Amie Juhn | NowThis Her
https://www.iwmf.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/NowThis-Her-Criminalizing-Abortion-Serving-30-Years-For-A-Miscarriage-Facebook.mp4

These women are living proof that criminalizing abortion doesn’t work.

Abortion has been illegal in El Salvador since 1998. And when abortion is considered aggravated homicide, women can be jailed for a miscarriage. Between 1998-2011, 17 women were thrown in prison after suffering pregnancy-related complications. They became known as “Las 17.”

One of the women serving time based off of this policy is named Alba, who got pregnant after she was raped and is now serving 30 years in prison. Another named Marina also experienced a miscarriage and is serving 35 years for aggravated homicide.

Because of its illegal status, a secret network of doctors, health workers and activists still perform pregnancy-ending procedures in secrecy. Still, they are difficult to obtain and thousands of women across the country end up dying from trying to end pregnancies on their own.

For years, former legislator Lorena Peña has been trying to change the abortion ban. Her amendments would have added exception to the abortion ban if the mother’s life is at risk, the fetus isn’t viable or in cases of rape of trafficking.

Though conservatives take the majority in the new Legislative Assembly, Peña says she will still reintroduce her bill every six months to end the country’s total abortion ban and save the lives of women and girls.

About the Author

Amie Juhn

Amie Juhn is a Senior Producer with Brut America in New York City. She creates feature-based short-form and long-form social news videos that inform and impacts millennial audiences. Amie produces,… Read More.

Original Publication
NowThis Her
Related Topics
Social Justice
Women's Rights
More From This Author
La Fábrica Is A Women-Owned, LGBTQ-Friendly Cafe In The Dominican Republic Activist Carolina Santana Sabbagh Wants Dominicans To Reclaim Feminism Women In El Salvador Attend The International Women’s Day March See All

Sign Up For Our Mailing List

Mission

We unleash the potential of women journalists as champions of press freedom to transform the global news media.

Address

1625 K Street NW, Suite 1275
Washington, DC 20006, USA

Contact Us

info@iwmf.org
(+1) 202-496-1992

Connect
Privacy Terms of Service

Copyright © 2023 International Women's Media Foundation. All Rights Reserved.
Nonprofit Web Design by NMC.