Today and tomorrow the Inter-American Court of Human Rights is hearing a case brought against El Salvador which will be decisive for the lives of women in El Salvador and across the region. 

The case is brought by Beatriz, a young mother from a rural area of El Salvador, who lived in extreme poverty and with lupus. Beatriz fought for her life against the Salvadorian state to allow her to end a pregnancy that put her life at risk. 

Beatriz’s story is unfortunately not unique. 

Criminalizing abortion does not reduce rates of abortion. It simply puts pregnant people's lives at risk.