translated from Spanish: El Salvador: Evelyn, the young woman convicted of miscarriage, was acquitted

As determined by the Cojutepeque Sentencing Court, Evelyn Hernandez was acquitted after suffering a spontaneous birth and being charged with “homicide”. The news generated great emotion in different feminist groups and on social networks. From the statement of Diario Co Latino, the support groups asked Judge José Virgilio Jurado Martínez that Evelyn appealed to article 7 of the Penal Code, which dictates that in case of doubt, the magistrate should consider the most favorable to the defendant.

#Video//Judge of The Judgment Court of Cojutepeque acquits Evelyn Hernandez of the charge of aggravated murder, for which the @FGR_SV asked for 40 years in prison. Hernandez support group holds pro-defendant verdict. pic.twitter.com/Z9Jiy9mMAF — Diario Co Latino (@DiarioCoLatino)
August 19, 2019

The case

The daughter of a cook and a bricklayer, Evelyn was a victim of rape when she was 18, which she confessed to not reporting as she received recurrent threats. She did not know she was pregnant until nine months after the fact, on April 6, 2016, she began to feel severe dizziness, stomach pains and suffered heavy bleeding. At that time, the young woman fainted in the latrine of her house, located in a rural community in the central province of Cuscatlán. When her mother took her to Santa Teresa National Hospital in Cojutepeque, doctors determined that she had suffered a spontaneous birth. At that time, they decided to immediately call the local authorities to report the event, after accusing it of having an abortion. The Attorney General’s Office accuses the Republic of the Republic, following the outcome of the forensics, after delivery in a septic tank, the baby suffered an “aspirational pneumonia”.
However, the defense explains that Evelyn had no intention of doing so: “The evidence has no direct element to establish the will with the intention of killing,” said lawyer Deleón, in dialogue with El País.De this way, in 2017 the young woman was sentenced to 30 years in prison; 33 months later, and after a Supreme Court ruling for irregularities in the sentence, he was granted release, pending this morning’s trial, in which he faced a 30- and 50-year sentence for culpable homicide for negligence during childbirth.” I just want to tell you that I’m innocent (…) I know that he (judge) is going to do justice,” Evelyn had said, awaiting trial. Meanwhile, lawyer Elizabeth Deras had assured AFP, “We’re hopeful we’re going to have a positive positive positive outcome in favor.”

The picture in the country of Central America is strictly rigorous with regard to the voluntary termination of pregnancy: since 1998 the total prohibition of abortion has been in place. Just in all, article 133 of the Salvadoran Penal Code determines a sentence of 2 to 8 years for abortion, as they consider it to be a criminalization of “aggravated homicide”. Currently, there are at least 16 women imprisoned after being convicted of different abortion-related crimes. As determined by the Citizens’ Association for the Decriminalization of Abortion, 49 women were convicted between 2000 and 2014.

Original source in Spanish