El Salvador is condemned for obstetric violence for the Beatriz Case, the woman who was not allowed to have an abortion even though the fetus could not survive

This Friday, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IAC Court) condemned the Salvadoran State for engaging in obstetric violence and violating the right to health of Beatriz, a young woman who in 2013 was forced to give birth to a fetus that she did not have. chances of surviving after a life-threatening pregnancy.

Although the ruling does not mention the denial of the right to abortion, it is the first time that the Inter-American Court issues a decision on a case of this nature in Latin America and sets a precedent for the countries that sign the ruling. American Convention on Human Rights.

The Court found the Salvadoran State “internationally responsible” for failing to guarantee the rights of “a woman who underwent a pregnancy with multiple risks in a situation of obstetric violence,” the ruling indicates.

Beatriz suffered from lupusan autoimmune disease that had complicated her first pregnancy. When she became pregnant for the second time, at the age of 22, the doctors discovered that she was pregnant. a fetus without a brain or skull due to a disease called anencephaly.

Although the laws of El Salvador punish the interruption of pregnancy under any circumstances with prison, Beatriz filed an appeal before the Salvadoran Justice to request that she be allowed to have an abortion.

However, the Constitutional Court of El Salvador denied her access to this procedure despite the fact that a medical committee of 15 specialists recommended termination of the pregnancy to save her life.

Weakened by lupus and emotionally devastated by her daughter’s condition, Beatriz gave birth to the baby, who died five hours after being born.

“The lack of legal certainty regarding the approach to her case led to the bureaucratization and judicialization of the required medical care, which affected the personal integrity of the victim and her family,” the ruling indicates.

El Salvador is one of the countries with the most restrictive anti-abortion laws in the worldsentencing him with sentences of between 30 and 50 years in prison if the woman is accused of aggravated homicide.

The Salvadoran president, Nayib Bukelefirmly rejects abortion. “Someday, we will realize that it is a great genocide“he said a few years ago.

During the trial, the Salvadoran State recognized that in Beatriz’s case “‘there was a situation of confusion’ and that ‘the protocols that could have given certainty to the doctors could have been much better, in relation to a decision that was made.’ “explained the court.

However, the Court concluded that El Salvador violated its obligations as a signatory State to the American Convention on Human Rights.

For this reason, he ordered “to establish guidelines and action guides for medical and judicial personnel (…) in the attention of similar cases”.

Given that Beatriz died in an accident four years after her second pregnancy, the court ordered the State to compensate the plaintiff’s family for the damages suffered and cover the expenses of her legal teams.

The text of the notification of the ruling does not expressly mention, however, the right to abortion.

“With this decision Justice is served for Beatriz and her familywho has spent so many years waiting,” human rights activist Morena Herrera, who participated in Beatriz’s litigation team, told BBC Mundo.

Herrera recalled that this is the first case in which the Inter-American Court “has debated abortion as a public health service that must be guaranteed for women”.

“This decision can change the lives of many women, ensuring that no one faces mortal risks due to laws as restrictive as that of El Salvador, and generates standards that can be taken up in other countries to benefit other women in the region.”

Delmy, Beatriz’s mother, told BBC Mundo that she felt “very excited” that the Inter-American Court had recognized that her daughter’s rights were violated by the decision to prevent her from terminating her pregnancy.

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