CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION Ever since the age of Enlightenment, long seen as the beginning of human rights, there has consistently been a strong emphasis on the inalienable rights of people. In the Enlightenment era, philosophers such as John Locke wrote about the development of human rights, using the state of nature, social contract, and role of government. Some of these fundamental beliefs were carried through history, and eventually the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was created in an effort to create world-wide equality. However, today there are still numerous human rights violations occurring across the world. El Salvador, located in Central America off the coast of the Pacific Ocean (See Appendix A), has one of the most restrictive abortion laws in the world, which violates women’s rights. The Catholic Church has extreme power in the country; in fact, the country was named in honor of Jesus Christ, their savior. Over time, the Salvadoran government and the Catholic Church have put more restrictions on the once liberal abortion laws. In 1956, abortion was completely legal in El Salvador. Under the 1973 Salvadoran Penal Code, abortions could legally be performed if it was needed to save the mother’s life, in cases of rape or statutory rape, or severe fetal deformity. Then, in April 1998, El Salvador revised their penal code and banned abortion completely. The government also amended the constitution to recognize life from the moment of conception. Groups such
The matter of reproductive right is usually presented as a vigorous significance in many articles and deliberations. In my opinion, women are safer when governments are aware that the right to an abortion is a human right, and denying a woman of such right is like stepping out of boundaries. “Reproductive rights rest on the recognition of the basic right of all
El Salvador has one of the strictest and most archaic anti-abortion laws in the world with a total ban on abortion, even in in cases of rape or incest, if the mother’s life is in danger, or if the fetus is not viable outside the uterus. Since 1998, the adopted legislation has increasingly made it more dangerous for women to seek medical attention when in reference to their reproductive health. These laws allow prosecutors to convert many abortion charges to aggravated homicide, which carries a sentence of 30-50 years.
When our founding fathers sat down to illustrate and create the foundation of the United States, they had many goals and ideals they set out to uphold. One of those is equality. It states clearly in our constitution that “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.” It can sometimes be a blurry line to if these ideals are still upheld in a rapidly changing and disunified country. This is where our civil sequences: Liberties and Rights, keep our country intact. 1 Both Civil Liberties and Rights are granted and defined in the Constitution. We must continue enforcing our civil sequences to maintain order for ourselves, our states,
Many Canadians of the 21st century still often wonder, was the creation of the Charter of Rights & Freedoms a mistake? It is believed that the Charter 's creation was a significant benefit as it guarantees certain political rights to Canadian citizens and civil rights of everyone in Canada from the policies and actions of all areas and levels of government. However, many believe the Charter makes Canada more like the United States, especially by serving corporate rights and individual rights rather than group rights and social rights. Also, there are several rights that should be included in the Charter, such as a right to health care and a basic right to free education. With this, by guaranteeing certain political rights and civil rights to every Canadian citizen, it is evident that the creation of the Charter of Rights & Freedoms was not a mistake, and was truly a benefit to all Canadian citizens for many important reasons. One important reason is that Charter guarantees all Canadians their legal rights as it promises rights of people in dealing with the justice system and law enforcement are protected. In addition with the guarantee of Canadians legal rights, is their language rights which is to assure people have the right to use either the English or French language in communications with Canada 's federal government and certain provincial governments. As well as guaranteeing all Canadian 's equality rights to promise equal treatment before and under the law. The
The Charter of Rights and Freedoms is a bill of rights granted constitutional status that was introduced in the Constitution Act of 1982 by Prime Minister Pierre Elliot Trudeau. The Constitution Act is also known as the repatriation of the Canadian Constitution. The Charter had several purposes; the first is “to outline and guarantee the political rights of Canadian citizens, as well as the civil rights of anyone who is residing on the territory of Canada” (The Canadian Charter. 1). Secondly, “It balances the rights of legislatures and courts through the ‘notwithstanding’ clause, which gives the federal and provincial parliaments limited powers to override court decisions “, while section 2 of the bill enshrines the freedom of the press, allowing the media to release controversial reports without fear of the state (Ibbitson. 2012). thirdly, it criminalized discrimination in society, government rulings and the judicial system and provides a set of ethical principles for all Canadians to follow, while promoting equality throughout the country.
Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau was establishing the renowned Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Since the three decades of being established, the Charter of Rights and Freedoms has protected the individual rights and freedoms of thousands of Canadians. The Charter of Rights and Freedoms has become a part of the national identity and has become a big patriotic symbol for the country. The Charter of Rights and Freedoms is the document the truly separates Canada from all the other powerful nations and is really something that Canadian take a pride in. The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms brings up many questions, but the biggest and most common question is how effectively does Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms protect your individual rights? To exactly know how effectively it protects your rights you can look at situations where it has protected and has not protected the rights of Canadians. Within the Middle East, the largest population of the men and women are Muslim. The Muslim religion suggests that women wear a veil or hijab, which is a headscarf that only exposes a woman’s eyes, accompanied by a burqa, which is a full body cloak. The sole purpose of the clothing is to cover a woman’s feminine features from men’s eyes. The Quran, an Islamic scripture, supports and slightly obligates the uniform by saying that women are to be conservative, “let them wear their head covering over their bosoms, and not display their ornaments” (Quran). It could be inferred that women
The Charter of Rights and Freedoms entrenched under the CA 1982 act in the Canadian constitution is seen as a decisive indicator of national identity by the majority of Canadians. The charter’s role in Canadian society ranges from providing individuals with intrinsic human rights such as freedom of expression, freedom of belief and acts particularly as a concrete limit on ‘tyranny of the majority’, advocating and enforcing basic rights of individuals and minorities. It is however worthy to note that CA 1982’s involvement as a platform to increased activism of the Supreme court in Canada is highly controversial. Employing the charter as a basis to the interpretation of different situations, the Canadian Supreme Court has in many occasions
“El Salvador is extremely strict when it comes down to enforcing the conservative approach with governing the people” (Rosas). “A constitutional amendment in 1998 defined life to begin at conception” (Geneva). Rosas says that the main spark that lead up to the prohibition was recovering from the civil war. Abortion is not only a problem in El Salvador but a problem worldwide. But the injustice in El Salvador is where the major troubles spread. “El Salvador is extremely conservative, and the Catholic Church’s influence extends into political decision making” (Rosas). The women undoubtedly have no say whatsoever. Instead, the government and laws overpower their opinions. She appeals to her audience by bringing up the topic that any free society should be considered to the physical right of the woman. Women and young girls in El Salvador are being forced to interact in sexual activities by men, yet the Catholic Church thinks elsewise. Nowhere does the law state anything about miscarriages or abortions, yet women are still convicted and imprisoned for these
As American citizens, we are given essential rights and civil liberties that places limits on government power. These rights are known as the Bill of Rights; the first 10 amendments to the United States Constitution. One right in particular I want to discuss is the Fourth Amendment. The Fourth Amendment is known as the right against “unreasonable search and seizures.” It is the basis of the law with regards to stop-and-frisk, search warrants, wiretaps, and other forms of surveillance. This Amendment states that “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.” The Supreme Court decided that without a warrant, searches are presumed unreasonable, and any evidence seized will not be admissible in court unless an exception to the warrant requirement is proven, such as the “good faith” exception. Even though the Fourth Amendment made an attempt to ensure the privacy of citizens, technological advances have made that challenging.
Each and every citizen of the United States is automatically granted civil rights and civil liberties. With that being said, every individual is given equal protection under the law and their rights are protected by the Bill of Rights. The First Amendment, one of the major amendments in the Constitution, greatly affects the public in a way that each person is able to express themselves in a certain way. It states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.” (U.S. Constitution). Americans did not use the First Amendment to their advantage as much in the past as they do so now in the present. While freedom of expression isn’t always embraced among Americans, it still remains as one of the most valued rights of United States citizens.
This made me think about what is going on in Florida and how many women in Florida, many want to seek abortions but are unable to due to the laws. Abortions can help save a mother’s life and even can save a child a life of misery. El Salvador is one of the five countries that actually send women on trial and sent to actual prison because their body suffered from a miscarriage, stillborn birth, or other obstetric emergency. What interested me was that, this is life and this nothing that these women have a right over. There is nothing that they can do, or anyone that can reverse what they went through, and how it was caused. Without adequate healthcare, without money, and without a lot of other necessary things to support a baby or to even find out if one is pregnant, is a hassle and can take a financial toll on those who just do not have it. While, the United States are teaming up with El Salvadorian officials and are trying to help bring about ways to help the women and ways that they can maybe set up alternative terms, is a big step. Many officials have asked both governments to continue helping the women, and at least try to change things and revisit the cases, of the women. Mainly because, imprisoning women who have no control of their health and of their maternal health should not be imprisoned, this is a human’s rights violation, and something has to be
So draconian are the country’s pro-life laws that even women who lose their unborn babies during medical emergencies can be jailed. Such is the case for 17 women, known as “Las 17,” who are serving jail sentences of up to 40 years for allegedly murdering their foetuses after suffering miscarriages, stillbirths or other life threatening complications. Carmen Guadalupe Vasquez, one of Las 17, was granted an unprecedented pardon last month. Is this fair or is it compatible. Hundreds have fallen victim to El Salvador's abortion laws. El Salvador are imprisoning women for having miscarriages that can not necessarily be their fault, including a cancer-sufferer who died while in prison for an apparent aggravated homicide following a miscarriage. El Salvador’s abortion laws have caused a mass amount off feud all around the world due to false imprisonment, like a miscarriage or
The name abortion sets an eerie feeling in the pit of one’s stomach. The thought of killing an innocent being should be considered illegal. No one should be given the right to kill an innocent child for their own selfish desires. Whether the child is a mistake, made from an inconvenience, or not having the financial capacity of raising another is no reason to abort. Abortion should be illegal because taking an innocent life is considered murder; it is not about choice, but the value of life itself and it goes against a person’s human rights.
In 1998, abortions in El Salvador were conceded to ladies if a pregnancy was a consequence of assault, if a pregnancy debilitated the mother's life, or if the hatchling had deadly innate anomalies. However, as the nation started to reconstruct after the war, the Catholic Church secured a more noticeable political impact, especially finished ladies' rights to self-sufficient choices with respect to their bodies. The Church propelled a focused on and at last effective crusade for prohibitive fetus removal laws keeping in mind the end goal to avoid what they saw as the low end of life in insubordination of religious esteems.
Human rights are universal rights that we are entitled to. It is a freedom that is guaranteed based on the principle of respect for an individual. As mentioned in the preamble of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, human rights are a “recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all member of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice, and peace in the world” (Kent, page 80). When asked what our rights are, we tend to get different answers and meanings. Some people recite the rights that they know; but let’s face it, not everyone knows all of the rights that they truly have. The rights we have consist of many things such as the right of having an adequate food supply. The right to