Latin America

Daniela Pulido | Facultad de Derecho PUCP, PE
DECEMBER 21, 2024 06:48:31 AM

The Inter-American Court of Human Rights announced on Friday its judgment finding that El Salvador violated human rights law by denying a woman seeking a pregnancy termination timely access to medical care in 2013. The decision in Beatriz y otros v. El Salvador was adopted on November 22.

The court focused its ruling on the absence of clear medical protocols for high-risk pregnancies, which led to what it termed the “bureaucratization and judicialization” of essential medical care. The court found that extended waiting periods and hospitalizations while seeking legal approvals constituted dehumanizing treatment amounting to obstetric violence. This failure to provide adequate and timely healthcare violated Beatriz’s rights to personal integrity, health, and private life under both the American Convention on Human Rights and the Convention of Belém do Pará.

The court ordered El Salvador to establish clear medical and judicial guidelines for handling high-risk pregnancies within one year and implement training programs for healthcare workers and judicial personnel. The judgment included monetary reparations for Beatriz’s family and legal costs for women’s rights organizations.

The case involved a 22-year-old woman, identified by the pseudonym Beatriz, who faced prolonged delays in medical care despite carrying a non-viable fetus and experiencing severe health complications. During her second pregnancy, Beatriz, who suffered from systemic lupus erythematosus, lupus nephropathy, and rheumatoid arthritis, learned she was carrying a fetus with anencephaly — a condition incompatible with life outside the womb. Despite medical recommendations to terminate the pregnancy before 20 weeks due to serious risks to her health, doctors were unable to proceed due to fears of criminal prosecution. After multiple requests from her family and human rights organizations for access to therapeutic abortion were denied, Beatriz ultimately underwent a cesarean section at 26 weeks, and the baby died five hours after birth.

More:
https://www.jurist.org/news/2024/12/inter-american-court-finds-el-salvador-liable-for-obstetric-violence-in-high-risk-pregnancy-case/