El Salvador: Time for a debate on abortion, feminist Morena Herrera says<http://lo-de-alla.org/2013/06/el-salvador-time-for-a-debate-on-abortion-feminist-morena-herrera-says/>
[image: aborto]<http://lo-de-alla.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/aborto.jpg>[Translation of an article from *ContraPunto* of San Salvador for June 4, 2013. See original here<http://www.contrapunto.com.sv/genero/se-impone-debate-sobre-aborto-morena-herrera> and related articleshere<http://lo-de-alla.org/2012/06/el-salvador-leading-feminist-interviewed-on-relations-with-the-government-and-the-party/> , here,<http://lo-de-alla.org/2011/09/el-salvador-feminist-organizations-join-together-to-demand-decriminalization-of-abortion/> here<http://lo-de-alla.org/2010/09/el-salvador-feminists-criticize-president/> and here <http://healthheroes.eu/en/hero_doctor_maria_isabel_rodriguez.php> .] *San Salvador* For more than two months, the feminist movement of El Salvador has conducted an intense campaign in favor of therapeutic abortion as a human right, specifically in the case of Beatriz, and a right in the womens healthcare system. The case of Beatriz is symbolic of what happens to hundreds of women in El Salvador. If there were a law that allowed at least therapeutic abortion, injustices and assaults against the lives of many women would end. According to the Agrupación Ciudadana, there are more than 30 women in El Salvador sentenced to 30 years in prison for the crime of aggravated homicide when what they have experienced are spontaneous abortions. Morena Herrera, a recognized feminist and leader of the Agrupación Ciudadana por la Despenalización del Aborto, stated in an interview that what is required of the country is to initiate an intense debate on what happened to Beatriz. ________________________________________ *What we are seeing in El Salvador with the case of Beatriz is that it is the womens movement that has taken the lead in this struggle. Why do you believe this is the case and not, for example, the doctors, since it is also a public health problem?* It is true that the feminist movement has had a lot of involvement, but it is important to recognize that other sectors of society, like the Foro Nacional de Salud, have backed this process, as well as youth organizations, both women and men, that have supported it. And it seems to me that on a world level, because we have letters from most of the countries of the western world, that this has moved beyond the feminist movement; it has been a mobilization which other sectors that work for human rights and justice have joined. That is important because the government understands that a majority of the population thinks differently from them about situations like that of Beatriz. We already had a report of a survey made by IUDOP [Instituto Universitario de Opinión Pública] late last year, of which Harvard University was in charge, in which 59 percent of the population was in favor of changing the laws on termination of pregnancy when there is a life-and-death risk. The percentage has increased at this point. The problem is that the people do not express themselves. They have called us from universities, they have told us that private colleges and public schools have dealt with the question of abortion. This drama that Beatriz has lived through because of the laws, which are not for peoples lives, which are not for the lives of women, it is absurd. And we cannot live with so much injustice, I believe that it has been shown that all people who struggle for justice have been moved by the reality of this girl. There have been echoes of this among people in the government also, although they have not been able to express it publicly. We have had indirect support from people who are in the government who say that this cannot be. It is important that the leadership of the executive branch and the FMLN [Frente Farabundo Martí para la Liberación Nacional] also realize that they cannot remain indifferent to this injustice. *What impression has this effort, especially by women, left you as organizations concerning the future of the struggle for womens rights?* It has left us a tremendous conviction that we have to struggle and bring together more forces in order to change the laws in some way, to make room for something, whether it is called abortion or not doesnt matter; what matters is that the state can solve this kind of womens problem. We believe that it is fundamental, now it is up to the legislative assembly. We cannot continue under these conditions, that is the first thing it leaves us with, a confirmation that if for every woman faced with this situation an effort has to be made like the one Beatriz made, because she made the first effort, she put her body, her choice on the line, it seems to us that is impossible. The other thing is that we have learned that there are a lot more people who are convinced of this than we imagined. We have had support from all sides with information and with some resources; all the accompaniment that was given to Beatriz from the time she went into the hospital has all been voluntary. The other thing is the importance of international solidarity, which had been dormant. The volume of response and actions is touching. Solidarity is capable of moving us when the injustice is great and it encourages continuing with the struggle. *What does Beatrizs case mean in this sense to those who were opposed to therapeutic abortion, especially after the image the country has projected elsewhere with this kind of activity of being practically cave-dwellers?* I believe it gives them reason to reflect because there are different sectors that have called for debate. Last year the Comisión de Bioética de El Salvador called for a strong debate and several people from that group attended, but when it came time for the debate they did not give up their slogans: Abortion is murder, a crime, and you are murderers. I hope it has become clear to them that what they have done is indefensible. It is insulting, all the offers made to the girl. This also leaves a reflection on the Catholic hierarchy, so they should have a little compassion and empathy for women in cases like that of Beatriz. I have talked with Catholics who felt indignant at the archbishops statements that he could not save all the souls but that he could keep one from being killed, referring to Beatrizs fetus. They have sent letters to all the parishes of the country and what these letters reflect is that the faithful think differently. *How do you think the debate on this question will be carried out because of Beatrizs case?* As a doctor in the audience said, all the records of his patients from 1998 to the present, we cannot release that information, but he looked at all the records of his patinets in similar situations and there were hundreds. I think there are all kinds of doctors, women are faced with some who have consciences and are concerned about the conditions of their patients and others who are not. The debate should be directed at not repeating what has happened, at not having more Beatrizes. It does not have to be a goal for feminists alone, but a goal for society, for the state of El Salvador. All the insults against the minister of health [Dr. María Isabel Rodríguez] are unfair, it seems to me she has been the bravest person in confronting these things. I believe that if the government wants to make a change for womens health we cannot wait any longer. Many people have told us not to get involved in this debate because it is election time, but the problem is that in El Salvador there are always election times. But Beatriz cannot wait for the elections and there are women in the maternity hospital who cannot wait. ------------------------------------------ FACTBOX-Latin America's abortion laws Source: Thomson Reuters Foundation - Tue, 4 Jun 2013 05:28 AM <http://www.trust.org/profile/?id=003D0000017ihcdIAA> Author: Anastasia Moloney<http://www.trust.org/profile/?id=003D0000017ihcdIAA>More news from our correspondents<http://www.trust.org/search/?q=&f_type=article&f_source=foundation&sbd=1> [image: wom-rig] <http://www.trust.org/search/?q=&f_theme=wom-rig> [image: hum-rig] <http://www.trust.org/search/?q=&f_theme=hum-rig> [image: hum-dis]<http://www.trust.org/search/?q=&f_theme=hum-dis> [image: Enlarge image] An anti-abortion activist holds clay dolls in the shape of foetuses during a protest in Mexico City, on Sept. 28, 2011.REUTERS/Bernardo Montoya [image: Tweet]<http://twitter.com/share?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.trust.org%2Fitem%2F20130604052841-89pjv%2F%3Fsource%3Dshtw&text=FACTBOX-Latin+America%27s+abortion+laws>[image: Recommend]<http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.trust.org%2Fitem%2F20130604052841-89pjv%2F%3Fsource%3Dshfb>[image: Google +]<https://plus.google.com/share?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.trust.org%2Fitem%2F20130604052841-89pjv%2F%3Fsource%3Dshgp>[image: LinkedIn]<http://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.trust.org%2Fitem%2F20130604052841-89pjv%2F%3Fsource%3Dshln&title=FACTBOX-Latin+America%27s+abortion+laws>[image: Bookmark]<http://www.trust.org/item/20130604052841-89pjv/http%3A%2F%2Fwww.trust.org%2Fitem%2F20130604052841-89pjv%2F%3F>[image: Email]<[email protected]?subject=FACTBOX-Latin%20America's%20abortion%20laws.&body=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.trust.org%2Fitem%2F20130604052841-89pjv%2F%3Fsource%3Dshem>[image: Print] [image: Jump down to related content]<http://www.trust.org/item/20130604052841-89pjv/?source=dpagehead#related-content> <http://d24pg1nxua23qm.cloudfront.net/contentAsset/image/20d09117-3875-4ab7-8aef-6cbfca9760b0/image/byInode/1/filter/Resize,Jpeg/jpeg_q/90/resize_w/960> BOGOTA (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Latin America has some of the worlds strictest abortion laws. In most countries in the region, abortion is only allowed in cases of rape or incest, or if the life of the mother or foetus is in danger. A handful of countries, mostly in Central America, have banned abortion under any circumstances. Below is a look at the regions abortion laws: - The estimated annual number of unsafe, clandestine abortions in Latin America increased slightly between 2003 and 2008, from 4.1 million to 4.4 million. - Of the 4.4 million abortions performed in Latin America and the Caribbean in 2008, 95 percent were unsafe, involving women performing abortions on themselves and surgery carried out by untrained health providers. - Every year, about 1 million women in Latin America and the Caribbean end up in the hospital for treatment of complications resulting from unsafe abortion, including excessive blood loss and infection. - In Mexico, abortion is only legal in Mexico City up to the 12th week of pregnancy. - In 2006, Colombia partially decriminalized abortion in cases of rape or foetal abnormality, or if the life of the mother or foetus is in danger. - In 2012, Uruguay's congress voted narrowly to legalise abortions during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. - In 2012, Argentinas Supreme Court ruled that abortion is legal for all rape victims, regardless of whether a woman is mentally ill or not. Sources: Guttmacher Institute <http://www.guttmacher.org/>, World Health Organization <http://www.who.int/en/>, Center for Reproductive Rights<http://reproductiverights.org/> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ --------------------------------------------------------------------------- LAAMN: Los Angeles Alternative Media Network --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Unsubscribe: <mailto:[email protected]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe: <mailto:[email protected]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Digest: <mailto:[email protected]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Help: <mailto:[email protected]?subject=laamn> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Post: <mailto:[email protected]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Archive1: <http://www.egroups.com/messages/laamn> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Archive2: <http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Yahoo! 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