SAN SALVADOR (Web Desk) – Recently, US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump caused a buzz when he vowed to punish the women undergoing abortions. But, later on, the businessman-turned-politician retracted his statement after public backlash.
However, some countries still treat abortion, even planned miscarriages as a crime. El Salvador is one of them.
Before, 1998 abortions were allowed in the country in cases of rape or when mother’s life would be endangered if the pregnancy continued.
However, currently abortion is illegal in all circumstances and is a crime treated the same as murder.
Under this new amended law, over 600 women have been convicted after being accused of undergoing abortions from 1998 to 2013.
One such women is Maria Teresa Rivera, 33, who was sentenced to 40 years in jail for aborting the birth of her fetus. She spent five years behind bars.
However, fortunately, a higher court reversed the ruling against her, saying that enough evidence was not available against her, earlier this month.
Campaigners across the Latin America state have welcomed the court’s decision. They have further urged the ruling party to end this discriminating law, terming it as an attempt to give men control over women’s bodies.
However, right wing activists in support of this law have argued that life is sacred and no one has any right to kill someone, fearing suffering in the future.
In 2014, 32% of all pregnancies in El Salvador were of teenagers, which included 1,545 girls aged between 10-14 years.
