After over two months of dragging its feet, the Salvadoran government has finally acted to save Beatriz’s life. On Monday, Beatriz, the young mother we’ve posted frequently about, received an early cesarean section and is now recovering in the hospital.
Our activism helped to save Beatriz’s life.
The hundreds of thousands of people around the world who mobilized on Beatriz’s behalf helped make it possible for her to – upon recovery – be able to return home to her family which is what she has wanted all along. Because of this overwhelming support, Beatriz was never alone in her struggle to access the medical care she wanted and needed.
Beatriz and the Agrupación Ciudadana, the NGO in El Salvador working tirelessly on her behalf, particularly wish to thank everyone who took action in support of Beatriz and the campaign to protect her life and health.
While Beatriz’s life is no longer at risk, many others around the world are.
Unfortunately, Beatriz’s case is not unique in El Salvador and in many other countries around the world where individuals are struggling to access life-saving medical treatment.
Just yesterday, in fact, a United Nations Group of Experts urged the Government of El Salvador to reconsider the current abortion-banning legislation and practice in the country in accordance with international human rights law.
Laws in contradiction to international human rights standards such as total abortion bans, completely bind the hands of not only the medical professionals seeking to administer care, but the hands of those seeking the care as well. These types of laws undermine humanity: no one should ever be forced to suffer the torture and discrimination the Salvadoran authorities subjected Beatriz to while they debated the merits of her case.
But let’s not lose sight of the significance of today.
While Beatriz should never have been subjected to this unnecessarily cruel ordeal, Beatriz will live – which is what we’ve all been campaigning for, and Amnesty International wishes her a full recovery.
You can join us in wishing Beatriz well by sending her a “get well soon” note here. Please also stay tuned for future campaigning opportunities to defend and protect sexual and reproductive rights around the world.
Hope this will have some effect on the whole situation and maybe even on the legislation. It's been a while since this has been going on
Unfortunately, there are hundreds or thousands of similar cases all over the world that will never see a happy ending, but maybe this will set a precedent for all the future situations like this one