Photo credit, valentina oropeza, bbc
Delmy attended the public hearing in the Beatriz case at the Inter-American Court.
- Author, Valentina Oropeza Colmenares – @orovalenti
- Role, Special Envoy to San José, Costa Rica, BBC Mundo
Beatriz was diagnosed with lupus at age 18. It was an autoimmune disease that complicated her first pregnancy at age 21. Delmy has always supported her daughter Beatriz.
Her premature baby almost died. A year later, in February 2013, doctors discovered that she was carrying a fetus without a brain or skull, a second pregnancy that posed even greater health risks.
Delmy was with her daughter Beatriz the day she received a crib in the hospital. A “gift” sent by strangers to salute the decision of El Salvador’s Constitutional Chamber to refuse her an abortion, despite the fact that the termination of this pregnancy was unfeasible.
It was a recommendation from a medical commission of 15 specialists to save the life of the then 22-year-old Salvadoran.
Ten years following this decision, Delmy attended the first public hearing held by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (Court I/A HR), on Wednesday March 22 and Thursday March 23, 2023, in San José, Costa Rica.
The objective is to determine whether the Salvadoran Constitutional Chamber is guilty of having violated Beatriz’s rights and of having subjected her to cruel and degrading treatment by prohibiting her from having an abortion.
His trial is the first on the refusal of abortion judged by the Inter-American Court. The ruling will set a precedent on abortion rights for the rest of the countries in the region that have signed the American Convention on Human Rights.
In this testimony, Delmy recounts what his family experienced, in particular the death of Beatriz, his daughter following an accident which occurred years following the pregnancy.
Photo credit, Getty Images
A fresco by Beatriz.
A premature baby
“Beatriz suffered from systemic lupus erythematosus, a disease characterized by the immune system attacking body tissues. She put her life and that of the baby in danger during her first pregnancy. Her son was born prematurely and weighed less than two kilos .”
“The hardest thing regarding Beatriz’s first pregnancy was having preeclampsia.
Before giving birth, she received a blood transfusion. I went to see her and found her weak and pale.
she was breathing quite heavily.
The child was born premature, he had a very low weight. I still have a cuturine [chemise de bébé] of him at birth. Cuturine is like this [forme un L avec l’index et le pouce]a very small shirt.
He was so small. I managed to contain my emotions when I saw it.
Beatriz was sad to see her baby in the incubator.
We thought he was not going to live.
This is the reason why she was not tied following her first pregnancy, because she thought her son was not going to live. And she wanted to have another child.
Beatriz has never been able to breastfeed. I guess it’s because of the strong medicine she was taking [pour traiter le lupus].”
Photo credit, Getty Images
Beatriz was a symbol in the protests for Women’s Day in El Salvador.
81 days of hospitalization
“A year and a half following the birth of her first child, Beatriz learned that she was expecting a second baby. She was afraid of experiencing the same complications because of lupus.
Doctors have warned that the fetus, a girl, has anencephaly: a birth defect that is thought to impede the growth of the skull and brain, the organ that controls body functions.
Since the baby would not survive, Beatriz petitioned the Salvadoran state to allow her to have an abortion. They refused. “
“One day, Beatriz woke up with sores on her face, like chickenpox. Pimples appeared that contained pus and blood. Soon following, it spread all over her body. Her little hands and her little feet were full of sores.
She mightn’t walk. I put a cloth over her so she might hold her child. It was unbearable pain she felt.
Beatriz didn’t live with me, she was with her partner. Finally, she came to see me to take her to a consultation.
When they did tests to find out what was wrong, they discovered that she was pregnant. For me it was a very hard blow because I knew that the process would be difficult like for the first pregnancy.
Eventually, she was admitted to Rosales Hospital. I had to go there every day. Two hours by bus. I had to leave at 6:00 in the morning to arrive at 8:00. There were even times when they wouldn’t let me in. I was waiting for visiting hours, either 11:00 or 12:00.
I was trying to get there very early so Beatriz might eat because her little hands were bandaged up with sores.
She mightn’t go to the bathroom either. The nurses were busy. She was waiting for me to arrive.
She also had difficulty eating because she had a sore throat, and the hospital food was not great.
Photo credit, Courtesy of The Lighthouse
Beatriz, seated in the center of the photo, when she was 15.
I worked in a cheese factory, co-workers covered for me so I might support my daughter. Beatriz and I were together during visiting hours. When the doctors said, ‘Well, all the visitors have to come out, I would hide and then come back.
During the time she was admitted to Rosales Hospital, Beatriz cried often because of the pain.
She was transferred to Maternity for the cesarean section.
She was hospitalized for 81 days.
She was in the room across from the one where the nurses were, in a very small room. She felt confined and mightn’t see her first child.
Since her partner took care of their child, he was rarely there with her. After he was released from the hospital, they stayed together.
One day, she checked her phone and found hateful comments regarding her.
One day, I arrived at the maternity ward to visit her and she said to me: “look what they brought me. It was a basket [berceau] and there was a blanket. I asked him, “And what regarding these people?” What do they want? »
In fact, they are his detractors. Those who opposed her abortion.
At night, she called me and said, “I’m desperate. I want them to end it now. She felt like she was going to die.”
Photo credit, Getty Images
Pro-abortion protesters remember Beatriz’s case.
The daughter of paradise
“Although Salvadoran law prohibits the termination of pregnancy under any circumstances, Beatriz asked to be allowed to have an abortion during the 12th week of pregnancy.
Finally, the Salvadorian court authorized the caesarean at the 26th week. Beatriz’s life was at risk. Within the legal framework, the procedure was considered a premature birth instead of an abortion. The girl was born by Caesarean section and died 5 hours later.”
Photo credit, Getty Images
Beatriz’s case has become a symbol of the fight for abortion in El Salvador.
For me, it was quite a difficult situation.
I was with Beatriz in the hospital when they came to tell her that they were going to perform the caesarean section. The procedure lasted two or three hours.
At the hearing, they said Beatriz had seen the baby. But Beatriz didn’t see her. It was more like me.
The doctor said to me: “Do you want to go see him?… But don’t take a picture.” I only saw her for a few seconds.
Later, I told a nurse what I had seen, and she explained to me that “these children cannot do anything because they have no brains”.
Beatriz wanted to give it a name. She searched the internet until and found Leilani, which means [en hawaïen] “Daughter of Heaven”.
We named her Leilani Beatriz.
After this episode in her life, Beatriz fell into a depression. She became angry.
We tried in every way to help her, to make her feel good in vain.
The positive thing was that she might now take care of her son.
“You do not know”
Beatriz died in a traffic accident in October 2017, four years following the birth of her late second.
Since the death of her daughter, Delmy has been raising her grandson, who is now 11 years old.
“With all these hardships, I fell ill. I started having high blood pressure. My partner was worried.
My colleagues supported me. I was able to endure all of this thanks to the good people around me.
On the other hand, neighbors or people gave their opinion without having any knowledge of the matter.
Even today, they ask me: “Are you for abortion? And I tell them, “You don’t know.” They say it’s a sin. I always answer “What if Beatriz had been your daughter or your sister? And they stay there, end of discussion.
What hurt me the most was the fact that abortion was not allowed.
Because of this whole story, I learned that you have to fight so that this situation does not happen once more.
My grandson was 5 years old when Beatriz died. When she was in the coffin, he would touch her and say, ‘Bella, get up.’ He thought she was sleeping.
He calls me mom, he calls his dad’s partner mom. Maybe because he misses his mother.
He is 11 years old, but has speech problems. He is in fourth.
In general, he is caring, but sometimes he is short-tempered.
I want my grandson to grow up to be a healthy and strong man. May he find a good job. And, when he grows up, he can explain everything that Beatriz went through.
And I also think of my granddaughter. An angel who is now with Beatriz.”
