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In their words: Salvadoran women jailed under abortion ban

Imelda, left, Cinthia Rodriguez, center, and Karen, all formerly arrested on suspicion of inducing an abortion, sit for a portrait in San Salvador, El Salvador, on Tuesday, May 17, 2022. The three are among the 65 women who have been freed with the help of nonprofit Citizen Group for the Decriminalization of Abortion and other women's rights collectives. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski) Karen, who was convicted of aggravated homicide for allegedly terminating her pregnancy, stands for a portrait in San Salvador, El Salvador, on Tuesday, May 17, 2022. At 21, she fainted while having an obstetric emergency alone at her grandmother’s home. She woke up at the hospital handcuffed to a gurney and was later sentenced to 30 years. After spending seven years in prison, the Citizen Group for the Decriminalization of Abortion and other activists successfully advocated for her release this past December. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski) Cinthia Rodriguez holds her daughter at a park in San Salvador, El Salvador, on Tuesday, May 17, 2022. El Salvador has prosecuted at least 181 women who experienced obstetric emergencies in recent decades. Rodriguez is one of the 65 women who have been freed with the help of the nonprofit Citizen Group for the Decriminalization of Abortion and other women's rights collectives. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski) Imelda sits for an interview in San Salvador, El Salvador, on Tuesday, May 17, 2022. Imelda says she was repeatedly raped from age 8 to 18 by her mother's partner and does not think women should be forced to carry a child conceived by rape. After being released from prison in 2018, Imelda began studying to become a nurse in hopes of setting a better example for medical providers on how to treat patients in similar situations as hers. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski) Cindy looks out the window as she recalls the trauma of being imprisoned for an obstetric emergency, which caused her to lose her child in 2014, in San Salvador, El Salvador, on Friday, May 20, 2022. Since being released, she has reflected on the time lost, time away from work, her son, and her studies. Cindy has recently resumed her tourism studies and hopes to resume English language lessons. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski) Mariana López sits on her bed for a portrait in Ahuachapan, El Salvador on Thursday, May 19, 2022. López was arrested on suspicion of inducing an abortion in 2000. She was ultimately convicted of aggravated homicide and served 17 years in prison until she was released when her sentence was commuted. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski) Zuleyma Beltrán, left, holds hands with her eight-year-old daughter at the organization, Mujeres Libres — Spanish for “free women,” on Thursday, May 19, 2022 in San Salvador, El Salvador. In 1999 after losing a pregnancy, police suspected Beltrán of inducing an abortion, which is totally banned in El Salvador. She was ultimately convicted of aggravated homicide and sentenced to 26 years. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)
In their words: Salvadoran women jailed under abortion ban