El Salvador's Abortion Ban in the age of Zika. The argument over when the human life begins is one of the most contentious in our world today. There are 66 countries that prohibit abortion under nearly all circumstances—though almost all of them exclude cases where the mother’s life is in danger.
The argument over when the human life begins is one of the most contentious in our world today. There are 66 countries that prohibit abortion under nearly all circumstances—though almost all of them exclude cases where the mother’s life is in danger.
But in six of these nations, there are no exceptions. This dramatic repression of reproductive rights in El Salvador, Nicaragua, Dominican Republic, Chile, Malta, and the Vatican forbids the practice even in situations of rape, incest, unviable fetus, or risk to the mother’s life.
Earlier this year, during the height of the spread of the mosquito born illness, Zika, the Salvadoran Ministry of Health recommended that women abstain from pregnancy for almost 2 years. The statement was met with outrage at the idea that women in El Salvador are in fact in charge of their own reproductive lives. Pregnant women in today’s El Salvador face a number of challenges from Zika virus, which has been linked to the condition of microcephaly in newborns, to the constant threat of gang violence. Many are victims of rape, often associated with gang initiations as well as high levels of incest, with many, alarmingly between the ages of 10 and 14. Over half of all reported suicides are of pregnant teens. However the most important threat to women’s reproductive rights is by far the State’s criminal ban on abortion. Since El Salvador’s absolute abortion ban came into law in 1998, some 150 women have been prosecuted under it. Doctors and nurses in public hospitals are required by the law to report any suspicious alteration to the authorities and provoking criminal charges which can lead to between 6 months to 7 years in prison. It is the poorer class of women who suffer the most, as doctors in private hospitals are not required to give information. Some women are even sentenced to up to 50-year prison terms for what are essentially still births. They are known as the “Mata Niños,” roughly 25-30 women imprisoned and serving between 30 to 50 year sentences on homicide charges for allegedly killing their newborn children. Prosecutors argue against the nature of science, accusing women of willing themselves to expel their premature babies, creating an environment where women are persecuted for the mere natural failures of their own bodies. A woman who contracts Zika while pregnant not only worries for the well being of her unborn child but for the increased risk of miscarrying and then being suspected and possibly accused of intentionally aborting. But then again Zika is perhaps the last of many women’s worries in El Salvador. [Official Website]
San Salvador, El Salvador-May 2016: A pro life wall mural adorns the wall in a side street on the main highway from Chalatenango to San Salvador. The society has over time embraced the abortion ban for the most part.
Panchmalco, El Salvador-May 2016: Churchgoers pay tribut to the Virgin Mary at a mass as part of the annual Palms Festival features a procession of the Virgin Mary through the town’s narrow streets and attracts people from all over the country as well as internationally who come to idolize her.
Planes de Renderos, El Salvador-May 2016: Abigail Sanches from San Luis Stalpa la Paz waiting to be examined at the maternal waiting house which especially helps women who come from areas without access to a nearby hospital wait out the end of the pregnancies in order to be close to a hospital and avoid complications.
San Salvador, El Salvador-May 2016: Families gather at the general cemetary to pay tribute to their mothers on Mother’s Day.
Panchmalco, El Salvador-May 2016: Women of the community carry the Virgin Mary on their backs on a procession through the town of Panchimalco. The annual Palms Festival features a procession of the Virgin Mary through the town’s narrow streets and attracts people from all over the country as well as internationally who come to idolize her.
Panchmalco, El Salvador-May 2016: The queen of the annual Palms Festival eating lunch with the whole town at her home. The festival features a procession of the Virgin Mary through the town’s narrow streets and attracts people from all over the country as well as internationally who come to idolize her. Young women such as her who live in gang controlled neighborhoods are under increasing risk of being raped and forced to date gang members.
Sonsonate, El Salvador-May 2016: María Tamayo examines Flor Marlene Morales at the maternal waiting house in Sonsonate. Flor, who is 15 and from the Juayua municipality arrived at the clinic 40 weeks pregnant, by herself. Her father was assasinated by gangs and she lives with an aunt and her grandmother. The maternal waiting houses especially help women who come from areas without access to a nearby hospital wait out the end of the pregnancies in order to be close to a hospital and avoid complications.
San Salvador, El Salvador-May 2016: Dra. María Isabel Rodríguez, Director of the”Hospital Nacional de la Mujer” in San Salvador congratulates Brenda Molina, 34 years old on her newly born twins, the second to be born on Mother’s Day in the city.
Sonsonate, El Salvador-May 2016: Flor Marlene Morales in labor at the maternal waiting house in Sonsonate. who is 15 and from the Juayua municipality arrived at the clinic 40 weeks pregnant, by herself. Her father was assasinated by gangs and she lives with an aunt and her grandmother. The maternal waiting houses especially help women who come from areas without access to a nearby hospital wait out the end of the pregnancies in order to be close to a hospital and avoid complications.
Planes de Renderos, El Salvador-May 2016: Pregnant women line up to receive mosquito repellent at the maternal waiting house in Planes de Renderos. The women were told they would receive repellent and mosquito nets at an event sponsored by the Canadian Embassy, WFP and the Ministry of Health however, after the press conference, the nets were reloaded into a truck and sent to a hospital.
Planes de Renderos, El Salvador-May 2016: Idalia Alverado Sanchez and her husband Alex in an intimate moment awaiting the arrival of their first child together at the maternal waiting house which especially help women who come from areas without access to a nearby hospital wait out the end of the pregnancies in order to be close to a hospital and avoid complications. This is 21 year old Idalia’s 3rd child, the first of which she had when she was 13.
San Salvador, El Salvador-May 2016: Pigeons storm the square in front of the Metropolitan Cathedral of San Salvador, where 44 people were killed at the funeral of Archbishop Óscar Romero who was assassinated while giving mass in another small chapel in 1980.
San Salvador, El Salvador-May 2016: Maria Teresa Rivera reacts to her sentence annulement in Federal Court, chanting “Dios Existe” with a photo of her son, Oscar in her hand. The Supreme Court annulled María Teresa Rivera’s 40 year sentence for aggravated homicide of her prematurely born infant after she had already served 4 years in jail, barely able to see her son who was being taken care of by her ill mother in a violent gang controlled neighborhood. After a careful review of the medical evidence and all the facts the judge stipulated that there was not enough proof of evidence that she intentially killed her child and ordered that reparations be made to her for her time served.
San Salvador, El Salvador-May 2016: Sanitation workers of the community health clinic in the Santa Tecla are fumigate houses, streets, sewers, and schools against mosquitos, as part of a government program to fight mosquito born diseases Zika, Dengue, and Chic.
The international Women´s Media Foundation helped support Nadia´s reporting in El Salvador
