by Jamison Maeda
Those of us following the situation of 22 year old Beatriz in El Salvador received disappointing news today as the Salvadorian Supreme Court rejected her appeal for an abortion which her doctors have repeatedly stated is needed to save her life. Beatriz suffers from Lupus as well as kidney issues, which have created life-threatening, pregnancy complications.
The foetus is considered nonviable due to a condition called anencephaly, which means it is missing part of its brain and skull. Most babies with anencephaly do not survive a full term birth and those that do are expected to die within hours afterward.
Urgent pleas to save the life of Beatriz made by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Regional Human Rights Court for the Americas, and organizations such as Amnesty International and Care2 have not persuaded the Salvadorian government which is more influenced by anti-choice groups as well as the Church.
In addition to the fight for her own life, Beatriz is gravely concerned with the fate of her 1 year-old child who risks becoming an orphan if she does not survive this pregnancy.
Human rights protesters rallied today outside of the Supreme Court, one woman bearing the slogan “Saquen sus rosarios de nuestros ovarios” which translates to “Take your rosaries out of our ovaries.”