Tell El Salvador: Miscarriage is not a crime

Tell El Salvador: Miscarriage is Not a Crime Sign the Petition › Dear friends, In El Salvador, women don’t have the right to make choices about their own bodies and their own lives. Abortion is banned in all circumstances—even when the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest or when the life of the pregnant woman is at risk. Tell El Salvador’s government that women have a right to make decisions about their own bodies now! The ban on abortion is so extreme that women who suffer stillbirths or miscarriages are often suspected of having had an abortion and accused of aggravated homicide. One woman, Teodora del Carmen Vásquez, faced this exact accusation. After giving birth to a stillborn baby she was handcuffed and arrested on suspicion of murder. Teodora spent over 10 years in prison for having a stillborn child, and now she is finally free. But 28 other women remain in jail for similar reasons — take action now and demand an end to El Salvador’s total abortion ban. Teodora is free, but the fight to overturn this dangerous law that put her behind bars is far from over. A miscarriage or stillbirth is a difficult event for a pregnant woman, both physically and emotionally. Instead of treating these women with care, El Salvador is jailing and imprisoning them. Ask El Salvador to put an end to this deeply flawed law now and release the 28 other women in jail under this law. TAKE ACTION Margaret Huang Executive Director Amnesty International USA © 2017 Amnesty International USA 5 Penn Plaza, New York, NY 10001 | 1-800-AMNESTY