Criminal Code, which has meant women often resort to unsafe methods of abortion, thus facing a serious risk to their health and life. It also expressed concern over the long periods spent by women in pretrial detention and the disproportionate criminal penalties applied to women seeking abortion and to women who have had a miscarriage, as well as the incarceration of women who are reported to the authorities after visiting a hospital in need of care by health personnel who fear punishment.9 38. In 2017, the United Nations High Commissioner on Human Rights expressed concern that “as a result of El Salvador’s absolute prohibition on abortion, women are being punished for apparent miscarriages and other obstetric emergencies, accused and convicted of having induced termination of pregnancy.” He added that “It only seems to be women from poor and humble backgrounds who are jailed, a telling feature of the injustice suffered.”10 39. Likewise, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary, or arbitrary executions stated in 2018 that El Salvador’s absolute ban on abortion has led to unfair imprisonment of women after having obstetric emergencies and miscarriages and later unjustly charged with having induced termination of pregnancy.11 40. Also, from the Organization of American States, the Committee of Experts of the Follow-up Mechanism to the Belém do Pará Convention reiterated in 2014 its concern regarding El Salvador "on having learned of a significant number of women who are being processed, punish, and deprived of liberty after being charged with crimes related to the crime of abortion." It stated that both in the general recommendations of its hemispheric report and the specific recommendations for the State of El Salvador, the Committee has stated that all laws criminalizing abortion in cases of sexual violence and therapeutic abortion should be struck down. In this regard, the Committee has underscored the gravity and impact of criminal laws on this with regard to women's right to life, particularly the way in which illegal abortions increase maternal mortality rates."12 41. Finally, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights has also addressed the absolute ban on abortion in El Salvador. Following its working visit to El Salvador in 2018, the IACHR noted that the prevalence of violence and discrimination against women was reflected in the criminalization of abortion. The IACHR stated that the absolute criminalization of abortion has direct consequences on maternal morbidity and mortality rates. Without legal, safe, and timely options, many women have to subject themselves to dangerous and even fatal practices; they refrain from seeking medical services; or experience obstetric emergencies without the medical care they need.13 42. Likewise, the IACHR expressed its concern over the fact that, even though the Criminal Code establishes sentences of up to 12 years for abortion, many women who suffer obstetric complications or miscarriages are convicted of aggravated homicide and sentenced to up to 40 years in prison, based on the suspicion of having induced an abortion and in possible violation of their right to due process. These sentences are said to be occurring in the context of proceedings that allegedly fail to respect the right of the accused to a fair trial. Likewise, the law on which these sentences are based appears to be in clear contradiction with the right to medical privacy, which reportedly keeps health professionals from having the necessary conditions of legal certainty to be able to properly exercise their responsibility as guarantors of their patients’ health.14 43. The IACHR later reiterated the impact of the absolute ban on abortion in El Salvador, stated that it places a disproportionate burden on the exercise of the rights of women and girls and creating a context Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, Concluding observations on the combined eighth and ninth periodic reports of El Salvador, CEDAW/C/SLV/CO/8-9, pg. 12. 10 Statement by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein at the end of his mission to El Salvador, November 17, 2017. 11 El Salvador End of Mission Statement of Agnes Callamard, United Nations Special Rapporteur for Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions, February 5, 2018. 12 Follow-up Mechanism of the Convention of Belém do Pará (MESECVI), Report on the Implementation of CEVI Recommendations, Second Round, El Salvador, OEA/Ser.L/II.7.10 MESECVI/I-CE/doc.16/14, October 2, 2014, para. 16. 13 IACHR Wraps Up Working Visit to El Salvador, January 29, 2018. 14 IACHR Wraps Up Working Visit to El Salvador, January 29, 2018. 9 6