Imelda Cortez, a 20-year-old woman in El Salvador, who was jailed with attempted murder after she gave birth to her rapist’s baby in a toilet has been freed. Cortez was rushed to the hospital in April 2017 after she gave birth to a baby girl fathered by her stepfather, who has raped and sexually abused her since she was 12, in the toilet. Cortez said she did not know she was pregnant, but the doctor at the hospital suspected she had tried to abort the baby and called the authorities. Cortez was then arrested and handed a 20 year jail sentence after prosecutors argued that failing to tell anyone about her pregnancy or seek medical attention for the baby amounted to attempted murder under the country’s laws, which completely ban abortions. However, on Monday, a court ruled that Cortez had not tried to kill her child and that she was free to go home. The judge concluded that the court could not have expected her to act differently given the emotional and psychological damage inflicted by the sexual violence she had suffered since childhood. Cortez was greeted by family members and supporters outside the courtroom. (📷: Getty, Reuters) - #imeldacortez #justiciaparaimelda #ojosenelsalvador #salvemosaimelda #abortion #abortions #abortionrights #pregnancy #baby #women #woman #girl #girls #prochoice #prolife #reproductiverights #believewomen #womensrights #mybodymychoice #equalrights #equality #feminism #feminist #metoo #timesup #consent #rape #rapevictim #womensrights #elsalvador
