Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2015-10-20.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of El Salvador concerning women who miscarry and find themselves imprisoned.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

We remain concerned by reports that women in El Salvador have been imprisoned under anti-abortion laws after suffering a miscarriage. Officials have raised concerns about the restrictive and sometimes punitive approach to sexual and reproductive healthcare at both a bilateral and multilateral level with the Salvadoran government. During El Salvador’s most recent Universal Periodic Review at the UN Human Rights Council in October 2014, the UK encouraged El Salvador to review its strict anti-abortion laws and urged the Salvadoran government to improve the treatment of women who have had abortions or suffered miscarriages.