Women jailed for miscarrying

[docmom]

El Salvador has the most restrictive anti-abortion laws in the world. Abortion is outlawed the way the fundies and the RC church would like it to be- no abortion ever for any reason (rape, incest, life of the mother). Women are now being jailed for murder on the suspicion of having tried to abort their fetuses- in short for having miscarriages:

www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-24532694

Glenda Xiomara Cruz was crippled by abdominal pain and heavy bleeding in the early hours of 30 October 2012. The 19-year-old from Puerto El Triunfo, eastern El Salvador, went to the nearest public hospital where doctors said she had lost her baby.

It was the first she knew about the pregnancy as her menstrual cycle was unbroken, her weight practically unchanged, and a pregnancy test in May 2012 had been negative.

Four days later she was charged with aggravated murder - intentionally murdering the 38-to-42 week foetus - at a court hearing she was too sick to attend. The hospital had reported her to the police for a suspected abortion.

After two emergency operations and three weeks in hospital she was moved to Ilopango women's prison on the outskirts of the capital San Salvador. Then last month she was sentenced to 10 years in jail, the judge ruling that she should have saved the baby's life.

This is the world that the "benevolent" Pope Francis would like to see. I would love for the "soft" "on the fence" anti-choicers to see this and see what a world without legalized abortion is actually like for women. I'm guessing they'd get off the fence.

[formergothardite]

This is the logical outcome of treating a fetus the same as a person.

[Feberin]

Great example of why our country should never make abortion illegal. That poor woman!

[2xx1xy1JD]

THIS is the reason that my experience with miscarriages - during which I was certainly mourning the loss of fetal life - nevertheless left me fiercely opposed to the anti-choice movement.

I felt "irrational" guilt, esp. over my first loss. I knew I hadn't done anything wrong, but I was worried that someone would accuse me of screwing up. Fetal protection crap puts all pregnant women until a cloud of suspicion.

[sparkles]

I would love for the "soft" "on the fence" anti-choicers to see this and see what a world without legalized abortion is actually like for women. I'm guessing they'd get off the fence.

I would love to say that I agree with you on this but sadly, I can't say that I do. If anti-choicers truly cared about women, they wouldn't be anti-choice in the first place. To them, women are nothing but incubators and if the incubator doesn't work, it becomes disposable.

[cindyluvs24]

This was the US or at least Newark, NJ back in the 40's, 50's. My mother tells stories of the women who were afraid to go to the hospital (St. Michaels or St. James - Martland was OK but across town) for fear of questions and possible legal action.

[singsingsing]

I would love to say that I agree with you on this but sadly, I can't say that I do. If anti-choicers truly cared about women, they wouldn't be anti-choice in the first place. To them, women are nothing but incubators and if the incubator doesn't work, it becomes disposable.

I'm sorry, but that's absolutely untrue. It's one thing to strongly disagree with someone's position, but to claim that everyone who is anti-abortion doesn't give a shit about women and only views them as incubators is utterly wrong. It's the equivalent of a pro-life person claiming that all pro-choice people just love murdering babies.

[sparkles]

I'm sorry, but that's absolutely untrue. It's one thing to strongly disagree with someone's position, but to claim that everyone who is anti-abortion doesn't give a shit about women and only views them as incubators is utterly wrong. It's the equivalent of a pro-life person claiming that all pro-choice people just love murdering babies.

First, please note that in both the original post and in my response we both used the term "anti-choice, while you used "anti-abortion." Two VERY different things, IMO, and your choice of words misrepresents what I said. For the record, I'm very much pro-life, anti-abortion AND PRO-CHOICE. But back my post...

Did I make a blanket statement? Yes, I did. Do I take it bacK? No, I don't. I had originally typed out this long-winded post explaining how I reached the position I have now, my thoughts on choice/anti-choice and blah blah blah. But it really came down to this: While there are gray areas concerning one's position on women's reproductive rights--yes, it IS possible to be 100% opposed to abortion and still believe you don't have the right to make that decision for anyone other than yourself--I just don't see any gray areas when it comes to anti-choice. If you (the general "you") force a woman to continue a pregnancy AGAINST HER WILL, FOR WHATEVER REASON, then you are dehumanizing her, stripping her of her rights to bodily autonomy (among other rights) thereby reducing her to a mere carrier--an incubator*. I really don't know how else to look at it. End of story.

* I had posted in another thread about my recent encounter with a group of anti-choicers, a local Catholic group that demonstrates periodically by standing along the major thoroughfares with posters, banners and literature. And yes, one woman very smugly said that's EXACTLY what she believed--that a woman gave up ALL RIGHTS the second she conceived, and if she didn't want the pregnancy then she would have to incubate the fetus until she gave birth. And she wasn't alone in that belief, not by a long shot.

[formergothardite]

ITA Sparkles, you can't value the life of the woman, including her quality of life, while making her give up her body to incubate a fetus.

[Effie]

Someone who just entered adulthood will now have to face a decade behind bars? Horrible. The problem is that there are people who do not agree with this woman-persecuting practice in El Salvador, yet they do not dare to speak out. Like my childhood pen-pal. For sure, he could probably do something, but he prefers to stay neutral as to avoid conflict. (According to him, he belongs to a minority of pro-choicers.) But well, at least he doesn't support the Catholic Church with his money...

[Khan]

It makes me even more distressed to see that this girl's father testified to his daughter being abused by her boyfriend for years. Jot being able to see her 4 year old daughter. So this country is ok with 15 year olds getting beaten up and having babies but losing a baby is ultra ebil. Ah, the whackadoodle. It hurts my brain.

[Effie]

It makes me even more distressed to see that this girl's father testified to his daughter being abused by her boyfriend for years. Jot being able to see her 4 year old daughter. So this country is ok with 15 year olds getting beaten up and having babies but losing a baby is ultra ebil. Ah, the whackadoodle. It hurts my brain.

I don't think that's the country, but rather one institution (such as the catholic church) having way too much power over this country. Or maybe I'm wrong.

[Mela99]

I don't get it -- how do they figure she did anything wrong? She went to the hospital for help...

[halfheartedheroine]

I don't get it -- how do they figure she did anything wrong? She went to the hospital for help...

Yeah, that confuses me too... wouldn't that be an attempt to save the baby? Or are they thinking she induced the miscarriage and went to the hospital to keep herself from dying?

[Peas n carrots]

Yeah, that confuses me too... wouldn't that be an attempt to save the baby? Or are they thinking she induced the miscarriage and went to the hospital to keep herself from dying?

I was thinking the same too, but honestly I wouldn't be surprised if that didn't matter to them. A fetus died, and it's always a woman's fault whether she wanted the pregnancy or not.

[docmom]

I was thinking the same too, but honestly I wouldn't be surprised if that didn't matter to them. A fetus died, and it's always a woman's fault whether she wanted the pregnancy or not.

Apparently any woman who has a miscarriage is at risk of being suspected of having tried to intentionally terminate the pregnancy. In practice, only poor women are ever actually charged, however. It also doesn't help that the law assumes guilt in this case and the women are forced to prove their innocence.

[Mama Mia]

Not to get into the rest of it. But- why does the article say "miscarriage" ? It states it was a full term fetus. That is not a miscarriage. Calling the stillbirth of a full-term fetus a miscarriage for shock value is no different than the idea of every missed period requiring a full on funeral.

What they did to this poor girl is horrific, but further sensationalizing it by using the term "miscarriage" doesn't make any sense.

And to the other point, saying anyone who is against legislating any sort of abortion restriction at any point in pregnancy for any reason means women are viewed solely as incubators is also completely ridiculous.