In December, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) issued its decision in a case that threatened to inspire the legalization of abortion in pro-life nations in Latin America. However, both pro-life groups and abortion advocates called the ruling a victory of sorts.
The case, Beatriz et al. v. El Salvador, stems from the story of Beatriz Garcia, who in 2013 was denied an induced abortion — the direct and intentional act of killing her preborn child — at 18 weeks. Beatriz’s attorneys argued before the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice that she needed the abortion to save her life after her preborn daughter, Leilani, was diagnosed with anencephaly and expected to die at birth. However, Beatriz’s doctors never said that Beatriz’s life was at risk, though she had lupus.
In fact, Beatriz had previously refused their suggestion to undergo sterilization after the birth of her first child, because she wanted to have another child. She only requested an abortion following the diagnosis of her second baby. Beatriz ultimately underwent a C-section at six months to avoid potential hemorrhaging. Leilani lived for a few hours after birth and Beatriz recovered from the procedure.
Beatriz died four years later due to a motorcycle accident, but pro-abortion groups used the media to spread the lie that Beatriz “later died” as a result of being denied an abortion.
Pro-abortion groups claim ‘victory’
The Guardian reported that IACHR ruled El Salvador had violated Beatriz’s human rights by refusing her request for an induced abortion after her preborn daughter was diagnosed with anencephaly, a condition in which the skull does not develop. According to that report, the Court ordered the El Salvadoran government to adopt “all necessary regulatory measures” to allow doctors to commit abortions in “pregnancies that pose a risk to the woman’s life and health.” The court also recommended that the country change its laws to allow abortion “in cases of fetal incompatibility with life outside the womb.” According to The Guardian, pro-abortion activists hoped that the ruling would pave the way for the decriminalization of abortion in El Salvador followed by other nations in Latin America.
In addition, pro-abortion Amnesty International reported that the Court “condemned” El Salvador’s pro-life law. It reported, “The IACHR ordered the state to provide comprehensive health care to Beatriz’s family, train health personnel, state officials, and justice operators in maternal health, and adopt the appropriate regulatory measures to provide legal security in cases of high-risk pregnancies. The Salvadoran state must comply with the ruling promptly and report on its progress within a year.”
Pro-life groups also claim ‘victory’ — on different fronts
However, the Population Research Institute reported that, in its ruling, IACHR also rejected the pro-abortion attempt to establish a false “right to abortion” throughout Latin American nations. It stated that the Court determined that laws protecting preborn children in El Salvador do not violate a woman’s human rights.
According to the Population Research Institute, the court’s decision affirmed the right to life for preborn human beings, confirmed that induced abortion is not a right because it is a crime, and affirmed that member nations can take up the court’s recommendations — but that those recommendations are not to be imposed on them, a move that strengthened El Salvador’s authority over its own laws.
Additionally, according to Reuters, “The IACHR said there was not a proven causal link between Beatriz’s death in 2017 and the medical care during her second pregnancy in 2013, so it did not rule on state responsibility for her death.” It also reported, “In its ruling, the IACHR ordered El Salvador to implement measures such as creating guidelines and protocols for medical and judicial personnel to ensure legal clarity and proper care in similar cases.”
Meanwhile, National Right to Life reported that the Court affirmed “that a proper understanding of human rights does not prioritise the unborn’s right to life over the mother’s health, but does clearly grant equal protection to both.” It also did not recognize abortion as a right because an “act cannot simultaneously be both a crime and a right,” and rejected the idea that obstetric violence resulted from the pro-life law, and “declared that … it will and does not impose [its recommendations] on member countries.
READ: Media lies about woman jailed for ‘miscarriage’ in El Salvador. It was infanticide.
Pro-life groups worked for over a decade to expose the truth
Pro-abortion groups CEJIL; IPAS; and Citizen Association for the Decriminalization of Therapeutic, Ethical, and Eugenic Abortion exploited the lives of Beatriz and Leilani to pressure El Salvador to legalize abortion, where all preborn children are protected from abortion. Pro-abortion advocates hoped the case would force Latin American nations to legalize abortion like Roe v. Wade in the U.S.
However, pro-life organizations continued to work for the last 12 years to expose the truth. According to one such organization, the Population Research Institute, “The case reached El Salvador’s Supreme Court, which, after reviewing all the evidence, correctly concluded that Beatriz’s life was not in danger and that an abortion was not justified. Rafael Varaona, a perinatologist and Beatriz’s doctor throughout her second pregnancy, told the court that her systemic lupus erythematosus was completely controlled during her pregnancy, and that her life was never at risk.”
After reviewing the case, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights determined that El Salvador’s pro-life law did not violate Beatriz’s human rights and was not the cause of her death.
“The Inter-American Court’s decision demonstrates that the defense of life can prevail even against massive international pressure and media manipulation and lies,” said the Population Research Council. “This case also underscores the importance of organization and unity among pro-life organizations in the region, all of whom worked together to expose the falsehoods spewed by the pro-abortion lobby.”
