Authorities in El Salvador stated a 21-year-old lady killed her newborn baby girl after giving birth and sentenced her to 50 years in jail for aggravated homicide.
A feminist non-governmental organization that supported the woman, Citizen Group for the Decriminalization of Abortion, claimed that Lesly Ramrez was at home on the evening of June 17, 2020, when she suddenly felt the urge to use the restroom.
Ramirez, who claimed to have been five months pregnant at the time and was 19 years old, remembered how “something (came) out of her” when she unexpectedly gave birth to the child.
Ramirez attempted to cut the umbilical chord herself after the miscarriage, but it was dark and there was no light in her home, according to Herrera, the NGO’s director, who spoke to Reuters.
She was brought to San Juan de Dios Hospital in the western department of San Miguel for treatment, and a week later, at a court proceeding she was unable to attend due to her deteriorating health, she was put in pre-trial detention.
Authorities in El Salvador, on the other hand, said that Ramrez stabbed the baby six times in the neck after giving birth despite carrying it nearly to term.
The prosecution has already created a narrative that completely criminalizes women, according to Herrera.
Ramrez received a 50-year prison term last week for aggravated homicide.
The court’s decision, which the Citizen Group for the Decriminalization of Abortion deemed to be biased, will be appealed.
The defense asked to have the investigation stage of the case against Lesly annulled because the judge refused to accept the inclusion of evidence that proved his innocence.
For instance, he did not value the social medicine expert opinion evidence of the gender violence to which she had been subjected, according to a statement from the Citizen Group for the Decriminalization of Abortion.
El Salvador is said to have some of the strictest anti-abortion laws in the world. These laws forbid all types of abortions, even if the mother’s life is in danger or the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest.