Leticia (2019) – Argentina
Woman pregnant from rape denied abortion, does self-abortion and almost bleeds to death because treatment delayed due to judgment
In September 2019, Leticia H. (a pseudonym), 19, went to a public hospital in northern Argentina to end a pregnancy caused by rape. She was 17 weeks pregnant. The hospital denied the abortion, citing an informal rule under which the hospital provided abortions only up to 16 weeks. The rule lacked a legal basis.
Leticia took medication to induce an abortion, said a lawyer involved in the case, but the abortion was incomplete; tissue remaining in her uterus placed her at risk of infection. Recognizing that something was wrong and that she needed medical intervention, Leticia went to a hospital, where health personnel left her waiting for two hours before treating her. Bleeding profusely, she lost consciousness several times in the emergency room corridor. “If you liked having an abortion,” a hospital employee told her, “you’ll now have to wait.”
Source: Human Rights Watch. Aug 31, 2020. Argentina: Legalize Abortion: End Insurmountable Barriers.