Evelyn Beatriz Hernandez had already served 33 months of her 30-year sentence when the Supreme Court overturned the ruling against her in February and ordered a new trial, with a new judge. This is the first retrial of an abortion case in a country that aggressively pursues legal cases against women who have experienced miscarriages and obstetric emergencies, accusing them of murder.
Hernandez says she had no idea she was pregnant, as a result of a rape. She recalls making her way to an outhouse in a poor, rural community one day in 2016 with strong abdominal pains. She squatted to defecate, she says, and the baby must have slid to the bottom of the septic tank. Evelyn's mother says she found her daughter passed out next to the makeshift toilet and hailed a pickup truck to transport her to a hospital 30 minutes away.
The Associated Press only identifies victims of alleged sexual assault by name if the victims themselves go public with the allegations. "If a poor woman has a miscarriage, she's immediately suspected of having had an abortion," Bukele said in 2018. "We can't assume guilt when what a woman needs is immediate assistance."
An intervention on behalf of Hernandez would show that Bukele is "interested in the lives of women," said Deras. Morena Herrera, who fights for women's reproductive rights in El Salvador, also urged Bukele to raise his voice "in favour of Evelyn" so that the young woman can get on with her life.El Salvador is one of three countries in Central America with total bans on abortion, even in cases of rape and incest, or when the mother's life is in danger.