Historic IACHR verdict in El Salvador abortion rights case

The Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) delivered a historic verdict on December 20, 2024, finding the state of El Salvador committed obstetric violence against Beatriz through denying her access to an abortion in 2013. The verdict also found El Salvador responsible for violating Beatriz’s personal integrity, private life, judicial protection and rights to health and to live a life free of violence.  

Feminist organizations in the region—including La Colectiva Feminista para el Desarollo Local, a long-term Inter Pares counterpart—and abroad celebrated the verdict, which marks a significant step forward in the pursuit of justice for Beatriz and other women experiencing violence in El Salvador and around the world. Together with other organizations, La Colectiva accompanied the case of Beatriz through the Inter-American system since 2013. This is a hard-won victory in a context that is incredibly hostile towards bodily autonomy and sexual and reproductive health and rights. Abortion is illegal in all circumstances in El Salvador, including rape and in cases of life-threatening pregnancies.

Beatriz was a woman experiencing poverty in El Salvador who was denied an abortion by the state in 2013, despite doctors deeming her pregnancy unviable and potentially life-threatening. Eventually, at 26-weeks' gestation, doctors performed a c-section on Beatriz. The baby died within hours of delivery. While Beatriz survived the procedure, the denial of an abortion subjected her to months of a life-threatening pregnancy and subsequent health complications. Unfortunately, Beatriz died prematurely in 2017. While the IACHR was not able to find a direct connection, some of the circumstances leading up to her death have been linked to complications she experienced as a result of the pregnancy.

Along with accompanying the case through the IACHR, La Colectiva campaigned to raise awareness about how El Salvador’s anti-abortion laws endanger women’s lives and limit their futures, particularly poor women. For example, they collaborated with other organizations to broadcast live coverage of the IACHR case hearings in El Salvador, offering space for reflection and analysis to nearly 1,000 people from across the country. La Colectiva also engaged youth through theatre workshops to re-write the story of Salvadorian women—leading some youth to see themselves reflected in Beatriz’s story. “Beatriz and her family’s struggle have brought attention to the violence experienced by women in El Salvador and around the world,” stated the co-plaintiffs of the case, including La Colectiva, in a press release following the Court’s verdict. “[With] this decision, we make progress on what Beatriz always wanted: for no other woman to suffer what she went through.”

In the coming months, La Colectiva will monitor El Salvador’s implementation of reparative measures ordered by the IACHR. These reparative measures include new guidelines for medical and legal staff attending high-risk pregnancies to a woman’s life or health, that would follow the highest standards to protect the health, life and integrity of women.

Inter Pares applauds and celebrates the verdict together with our counterpart. We have supported La Colectiva in their struggle for the decriminalization of, and access to, abortion since 2006. In 2019, Inter Pares supported La Colectiva to scale-up their decades-long work through Building Momentum for Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights, funded by Global Affairs Canada. As La Colectiva continues the fight for reproductive rights and justice in El Salvador—we will be by their side.