EL SALVADOR

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EL SALVADOR Zika and Abortion Reproductive Justice in El Salvador BY JOCELYN VITERNA DON’T GET PREGNANT. That was the essence of the recommendation the Ministry of Health in El Salvador made on January 21. The statement that Salvadoran women should plan to “avoid getting pregnant this year and next” was issued in response to the rapidly spreading Zika virus, which experts believe may cause devastating neurological defects in the fetuses of pregnant women. The unprecedented call for a twoyear, nation-wide moratorium on births quickly garnered international attention, including front-page coverage on The New York Times (http://www.nytimes. com/2016/01/26/world/americas/elsalvadors-advice-on-zika-dont-havebabies.html). Progressive news outlets responded with disbelief, calling the recommendation “outrageous” and “offensive to women.” How could the Salvadoran state expect women to simply stop getting pregnant when access to family planning is “scarce,” Catholic teachings reject the use of contraception, and rape Pregnant women do not have the right to choice in El Salvador. is far too common? And what would the state offer already pregnant women now infected with Zika? Would they not consider relaxing the state’s absolute prohibition on all abortion? To date, Salvadoran public opinion has been largely opposed to permitting abortions in cases of fetal anomalies, even when the fetus will not survive after birth. Yet as the very real possibility of raising a child with severe developmental delays becomes newly salient to thousands of Salvadorans dreaming of parenthood, and as the Salvadoran state grapples with questions of how it will care for a generation of Zika babies given its limited national resources, some activists have posited that this tragedy might be enough to change both public opinion and political will toward a loosening of abortion restrictions in El Salvador. However, conservative pundits also met the government’s call to not get pregnant with indignation, asking why the Salvadoran government would focus on preventing pregnancies rather than on killing the mosquito responsible for the virus’ spread, condemning prochoice groups for taking advantage of a regional tragedy to pursue their political agenda, and professing the right to life of all unborn children, even those saddled with severe fetal anomalies due to Zika. It is far from the first time Salvadoran women’s bodies have been politicized on the international stage. Beginning in the 1990s, Pope John Paul II’s global crusade against abortion inspired a group of elite Salvadorans to launch a local pro-life campaign. At the time, abortion in El Salvador was allowed in only three limited circumstances: when a pregnancy endangered the life of the woman, when a pregnancy was the result of rape, or when a fetus had abnormalities incompatible with extrauterine life. The new pro-life movement, together with the Salvadoran Catholic Church, sought to make abortion illegal in every circumstance, even when a woman’s life was in danger. They achieved this goal in 1997, when the right-wing ARENA political party used its legislative majority to enshrine an absolute prohibition of abortion into the criminal code. The revised criminal code also increased the penalties for abortion, and created a new category of abortion crime, called “inducement,” which promised jail time for anyone who somehow facilitated a woman’s abortion. Under these new laws, Salvadoran doctors feared prosecution not only for performing life-saving abortions, but also for not reporting to the authorities any patient whom they suspected of undergoing the procedure. In 1999, the pro-life movement cemented its position as a powerful player in national politics by securing a major legislative victory: the passage of a constitutional amendment that defines 24 ReVista SPRING 2016 PHOTOS THIS AND OPPOSITE PAGE BY MAURO ARIAS, MAURO ARIAS @MAUROARIASFOTO
PERSPECTIVES One out of every three pregnancies in El Salvador is to a girl younger than fifteen years old, according to a Salvadoran newspaper. life as beginning at the very moment of conception. With the absolute ban now constitutionally protected, the Salvadoran pro-life activists turned their attention to the enforcement of antiabortion laws. Salvadoran police heeded their call, and for the first time in recent history, Salvadoran women began to be arrested on suspicion of abortion. Most women found guilty of abortion received light sentences (community service, house arrest or time served during the trial), but a minority saw their initial charges of “abortion” upgraded to charges of “aggravated homicide.” These women, who in the majority of cases did not induce abortions but rather suffered from stillbirths, are currently serving Photographer Mauro Arias made these portraits of adolescent mothers in El Salvador. REVISTA.DRCLAS.HARVARD.EDU ReVista 25
Page 1 and 2: SPRING 2016 HARVARD REVIEW OF LATIN
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Page 5 and 6: Top: Labor Day protest for decent p
Page 7 and 8: FIRST TAKE A rose hangs on the wall
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Page 33 and 34: ART AND ACTION Claire Breukel and M
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THE DIASPORA Sofía Jarrín-Thomas
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THE DIASPORA A Salvadoran-themed mu
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THE DIASPORA Marta Castillo Ramos i
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BOOK TALK democrat, who describes t
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BOOK TALK To Build or Not to Build?
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DAVID ROCKEFELLER CENTER FOR LATIN
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EL SALVADOR 1730 Cambridge St., Cam
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EL SALVADOR

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