#las17

[genhealth]

Free at Last

Maria Teresa Rivera, wrongfully imprisoned in El Salvador after having a miscarriage, is finally free! 

She had been accused of having an abortion in 2011 and sentenced to 40 years in prison. El Salvador is one of six countries in the world where abortion is completely banned.  

Today we celebrate with Maria Teresa, and the countless activists around the world who called for her release. 

Read more about the case here.

[ipasorg]

Since El Salvador completely banned abortion in 1999, 17 women have been put behind bars for pregnancies that ended due to natural causes. All of them were sentenced with up to 40 years in prison—their legal and human rights flagrantly disregarded by the Salvadoran government.

In the spirit of V-Day, we honor the amazing work of advocates in El Salvador and elsewhere to free the Las 17 women imprisoned on abortion-related charges.

You can help! Sign the petition calling on John Kerry to free the 17!

[genhealth]

55 U.S. Members of Congress Stand with Salvadoran Women

"This Christmas, we hope the 17 recover their liberty.” Advocates in El Salvador push for the release of 17 women who were wrongly imprisoned for having miscarriages. Picture from Las 17 Facebook page.

International human rights bodies have cited no-exceptions abortion bans, much like the law in El Salvador, as human rights violations. Salvadoran women can and are being imprisoned for sentences as extreme as 40 years for merely having natural miscarriages or stillborn births - and are being prosecuted for crimes as severe as homicide.

Representatives Norma Torres (D-CA-35) and Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL-23) are standing with Salvadoran women: they have written a letter to Sec. of State John Kerry urging him to speak with Salvadoran President Cerén and push for the release of women who have been imprisoned as a result of El Salvador’s no-exceptions abortion ban. Even more significant, their letter is signed by a total of 55 Representatives, who join forces with numerous international human rights organizations in fighting for the reproductive rights of the unjustly imprisoned Salvadoran women.

Read the letter here.

[aimexico]

#Las17 su futuro está en tus manos.

[aimexico]

Guadalupe es una mujer salvadoreña de 25 años, que ha sido sentenciada a 30 años en prisión por consecuencia de un aborto espontáneo. Conoce más de su caso aquí:http://ir.amnistia.mx/Guadalupe

Exige justicia y alza tu voz por Guadalupe enviando un tweet a las autoridades de El Salvador en las siguientes cuentas: @PCN_Oficial, @FMLNOficial, @GANAOFICIAL, @CD_ESA, @PDC_OFICIAL, @ARENAOFICIAL, @asambleaSV

¡Actúa!