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News > Latin America

Freed At Last: El Salvador Woman Jailed Over 'Abortion'

  • Prosecutors maintain that Teodora Vasquez, a 34-year-old chef, strangled her baby after it was born, but her lawyers said she suffered a stillbirth. 

    Prosecutors maintain that Teodora Vasquez, a 34-year-old chef, strangled her baby after it was born, but her lawyers said she suffered a stillbirth.  | Photo: Reuters

Published 15 February 2018
Opinion

Since 1997, El Salvador has had one of the world's most severe laws against women who have had abortions or those who are suspected of assisting others.

A woman from El Salvador who had served 10 years of a 30-year prison term for allegedly aborting her child has been freed after the Supreme Court reduced her sentence, Reuters reports.

RELATED: 
IACHR Urges El Salvador to Release Women Jailed Over Abortion  
 

Since 1997, El Salvador has had one of the world's most severe laws against women who have had abortions or those who are suspected of assisting others with abortions.

Prosecutors maintain that Teodora Vasquez, a 34-year-old chef, strangled her baby after it was born in 2007, but her lawyers said she had health complications and had suffered a stillbirth. 

Vasquez appealed the 30-year penalty upheld by a lower court and El Salvador's Supreme Court reduced her sentence on Thursday. She had spent more than 10 years in jail.

"My effort has been worth it and now I'm very happy to go back to my family again," Vasquez said after leaving prison, surrounded by family and cheering human rights activists.

Amnesty International said the resolution was encouraging, but that the case should help end the ban, under which at least 27 other women are still incarcerated.

"El Salvador is still far from fully ensuring the rights of women and girls in the country," said Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas director at Amnesty.

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