By Jos Truitt • @jostruitt • 14 years ago

Nicaragua’s abortion ban preventing cancer patient from receiving necessary treatment

The cruelty of Nicaragua’s extreme abortion ban is undeniable in the case of Amelia (an alias), a 27-year-old woman with cancer. Passed in 2006, the law criminalizes abortion, even if the woman’s life or health is at risk. Amelia, who has a 10-year-old daughter, needs to have an abortion so she can undergo treatment for the cancer, which may have metastasized in her brain, lungs and breasts.
The Strategic Group for the Decriminalization of Therapeutic Abortion in Nicaragua, whose members include the Nicaraguan Center for Human Rights, the OB-GYN Society, the New Family Association (ANFAN) and international organizations including Women’s Link Worldwide, the Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL) and IPAS Central America, filed a petition on February 18th with the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights to demand the Nicaraguan government adopt urgent precautionary measures to protect Amelia’s life.
From a statement from these organizations:

Even though the treating physicians concluded that the patient requires an abortion to initiate chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatment, the young woman has been hospitalized since January 29th without being able to receive an abortion and therefore, without receiving any kind of treatment to stop the cancer.
Under these circumstances, Amelia is in imminent danger of losing her life, given the impossibility of accessing an abortion. Under current Nicaraguan law, women in need of therapeutic abortions to save their life or protect their health are in fact, sentenced to death. Additionally, in this case, her minor daughter would be orphaned.

Too often, abortion laws completely ignore the lived realities in which the procedure takes place. Nicaragua’s law is the antithesis of pro-life since, if followed, it could mean this woman’s death.
UPDATE: The coalition working on this case is asking individuals and organizations to take action. Head over to RH Reality Check to find out how you can help.

Boston, MA

Jos Truitt is Executive Director of Development at Feministing. She joined the team in July 2009, became an Editor in August 2011, and Executive Director in September 2013. She writes about a range of topics including transgender issues, abortion access, and media representation. Jos first got involved with organizing when she led a walk out against the Iraq war at her high school, the Boston Arts Academy. She was introduced to the reproductive justice movement while at Hampshire College, where she organized the Civil Liberties and Public Policy Program’s annual reproductive justice conference. She has worked on the National Abortion Federation’s hotline, was a Field Organizer at Choice USA, and has volunteered as a Pro-Choice Clinic Escort. Jos has written for publications including The Guardian, Bilerico, RH Reality Check, Metro Weekly, and the Columbia Journalism Review. She has spoken and trained at numerous national conferences and college campuses about trans issues, reproductive justice, blogging, feminism, and grassroots organizing. Jos completed her MFA in Printmaking at the San Francisco Art Institute in Spring 2013. In her "spare time" she likes to bake and work on projects about mermaids.

Jos Truitt is an Executive Director of Feministing in charge of Development.

Read more about Jos

Join the Conversation