Health and Human Rights Journal | July 19, 2022
Read the PublicationA few years ago, Belén ended up in jail after being admitted to a hospital in Argentina for suffering a miscarriage. Within hours, she was surrounded by the police and accused of having induced an abortion, which was illegal. Belén spent 29 months in preventive detention and was sentenced to eight years in prison for aggravated homicide due to Argentina’s strict abortion laws at the time. Her case moved thousands of people to take to the streets and demand her release. Belén’s situation highlights what life is like when abortion is banned, and it was instrumental in putting an end to abortion criminalization in Argentina in 2020.