When the woman gave birth to her daughter in 2015 in a hospital in El Salvador, it was discovered that the baby had heart problems. Three days later she died.
The 28-year-old mother was then accused by prosecutors of not having taken sufficient care of the fetus during the pregnancy. She was sentenced to 30 years in prison for suspected abortion and has been imprisoned ever since. But now she has been freed.
One of the strictest abortion laws in the world
BBC writes that the decision behind the release was based on the woman being in a vulnerable situation in connection with the loss of her child.
El Salvador has one of the strictest abortion laws in the world. Since 1998, there has been a total ban on abortion in the country – even if the pregnancy was caused by rape or poses a danger to the mother’s life. The women who are found guilty are usually sentenced to between two and eight years in prison. If the abortion is considered “extra serious”, the penalty is at least 30 years in prison.
Current President Nayib Bukele, who is expected to be re-elected next month, has said he wants to improve conditions in hospitals to make births safer. But he has also emphasized that he has no intention of changing the country’s abortion legislation.