Abortions still illegal in El Salvador even if the mother is at risk A critically ill young woman in El Salvador may have to decide between jail and a life-saving abortion, according to a new report from Amnesty International. American newspaper The Huffington Post reported that a 22-year-old woman, identified only as Beatriz, is four-and-a-half months pregnant but could die if she doesn't get an abortion. Beatriz has previously been diagnosed with several illnesses, including lupus and kidney disease, Amnesty reports, and her baby is missing a large part of its brain and skull and would likely die within hours or days of her giving birth.  All abortion cases in El Salvador are illegal, including when it could save the life of the mother. British newspaper The Times reported that the country “not only a total ban on abortion but also an active law-enforcement apparatus — the police, investigators, medical spies, forensic vagina inspectors and a special division of the prosecutor's office responsible for Crimes Against Minors and Women, a unit charged with capturing, trying and incarcerating an unusual kind of criminal.” Beatriz's hospital reportedly petitioned the matter to El Salvador's Supreme Court a month ago but is still awaiting a ruling.