We write this letter in support of a ruling in favor of Beatriz by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights of Costa Rica (IACHR) in the Beatriz vs. El Salvador case.
Not only will ruling in favor of Beatriz bring justice to her, her family, and her community, but it also has the potential to initiate a reverse on the total ban on abortion in El Salvador. At the very minimum given the extenuating medical circumstances, Beatriz should have had the option to abort, hers is now a life lost due to a lack of choice and restrictive legislation (ban of abortion). Similar to El Salvador, we are concerned that countries such as Nicaragua, Honduras, the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Suriname have complete bans on abortion. A ruling in favor of Beatriz will set an important precedent for the region, encouraging other countries to allow women and girls access to their fundamental sexual and reproductive rights. We cannot afford to lose any more lives, women must have a choice and in cases of rape or medical complications the option to abort and access to safe abortion care is critical.
The Generation Equality blueprint calls for increasing the availability, accessibility and quality of contraception and comprehensive abortion services. Supporting these services is paramount to gender equality and to increasing the bodily-autonomy, decision-making power and sexual and reproductive health and rights of women and girls globally.
We believe the decision to continue or end a pregnancy is one that must be made by a woman with the help of the people she trusts. The outcome of this decision is one that should not be punitive for the woman seeking an abortion nor the doctors who assist her, not only in an instance of medically necessitated abortion but in all cases.
El Salvador is a country that recognizes not only the IACHR but also other binding instruments such as those outlined by the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and the Montevideo Consensus. Under these agreements, Beatriz’ suffering and attacks to the right to health, life and dignity could have been prevented. Moreover, we would like to emphasize the irrefutable evidence presented by the plaintiff organizations during the April 2023 hearing, confirming the violation of rights suffered by Beatriz and her family.
Defending justice for Beatriz means standing in support to the right to life, health and dignity of millions of women and girls in Latin American and the Caribbean.
We sign this letter in support of Beatriz, justice and gender equality.
Supporters
- Anton de Kom University of Suriname
- ARROW
- Centro de investigación y acción en materia de juventudes y acción climática para el desarrollo sostenible
- Clue
- Community Health
- Community Health
- EngenderHealth
- Equity Watch Initiative
- Facundo Peralta RedNAC National Network of Adolescents and Young People for Sexual and Reproductive Rights
- Fos Feminista
- French Planning Familial
- Fundación Libera
- Fundacion para Estudio e Investigación de la Mujer
- Girls Community RDC
- Guttmacher Institute
- Haiti Cholera Research Funding Foundation Inc USA
- Humanity Diaspo
- Individual supporters, Institute of Tropical Medicine
- MSI Reproductive Choices
- New Vision for Peace
- Organization of African Youth
- SheDecides
- Solidarité des Jeunes Filles pour l'éducation et l'intégration socioprofessionnelle, SOJFEP
- Soul City Institute
- SUPERB CBO
- White Ribbon Alliance
- Women Capital Uganda
- Women Enabled International
- Women Students Mentorship Association (WOSWA)
- WORLD FUTURE ACTIVE
- World Future Active
- Youth Coalition for SRHR