In a country where abortion is extremely restricted, are the exceptions to the ban enough to protect lives? When abortion is limited, a country or a state may allow it in certain circumstances, which are typically when the fetus or pregnancy is not viable, when the life of the pregnant person is at risk, or pregnancy due to rape or incest. These exceptions sound like they would be enough to protect the most vulnerable, but in practicality they are not.
In the new podcast and video series Green Tide Rising, which spotlights Latin America’s Green Wave abortion rights movement and how it is impacting the United States, episode five takes a look at what is happening in the Dominican Republic, which shares an island with Haiti in the Caribbean. In the Dominican Republic, similar to El Salvador which was highlighted in Episode 2, abortion is completely banned and there are no exceptions.
Hosts Asha Dahya and Monica Morales-Garcia highlight the movement for Las Tres Causales, or The Three Exceptions, hearing different perspectives from activists and organizers about why these exceptions are not enough, but are an important first step in a longer fight.
Lawyer Estefanny Molina from Women’s Link Worldwide shares the story of Esperancita, a young pregnant woman who should’ve technically been allowed to access abortion due to a health diagnosis. Esperancita had leukemia and was being denied treatment for her cancer because her chemotherapy might harm or kill the fetus. Sadly, she died a preventable death, and her mother, Rosa Hernandez, teamed up with Estefanny to protest the injustice of the situation. They have been campaigning to reform the country’s penal code in order to include three exceptions to abortion, which might’ve saved Esperancita’s life.
But the fight for Las Tres Causales is making waves in the U.S., as there is a strong Dominican community in New York who have joined the fight! Asha and Monica speak with NY Assemblywoman Amanda Septimo, a Dominicana who has been part of U.S.-based protests forcing DR President Luis Abinader to reform the penal code.
This is an urgent message for those of us in the United States ahead of our presidential election, where abortion rights are the biggest issue on the ballot. As many states continue to restrict and try to ban abortion altogether, there are claims that the three exceptions to the restrictions are enough. But that is not the case, and this is not freedom – a value that this country loves to tout so much. We must continue to push forward for abortion access and bodily autonomy, and there is so much we can learn from the Green Wave Movement, which is making its way from Latin America and the Caribbean toward the Global North.
You can hear the episode by downloading and subscribing to Green Tide Rising, available wherever you get your podcasts.
