30-year prison sentence for woman declared a witch after miscarriage

In 2008, Cinthia Marcela Rodriguez Ayala, a young woman in her early 20s, did not know what would happen to her when she went into labor at home while 8 months pregnant. After her baby was stillborn during the home birth, Cinthia was taken to the hospital by a neighbor, but she had handcuffs on her ankles when she left the hospital.

Even though she begged, "I want to see my baby," the police's response was, "You cannot, because you are under arrest." In El Salvador, where stillbirths and miscarriages are considered serious crimes, Cinthia was not even allowed to grieve the loss of her baby. When she was brought to court, the prosecutor's accusation sounded as if it had been pulled straight from the medieval inquisition courts: "Homicidio agravado," a rough male voice roared, meaning aggravated homicide.

This term is a legal expression indicating that a murder was committed under serious circumstances. It is generally used in cases of premeditated, brutal murders intended to severely disrupt public order, resulting in much harsher criminal penalties for the perpetrator than usual.

CINTHIA WAS 31 WHEN SHE LEFT PRISON

The loss of her baby led to innocent Cinthia spending 11 years of her life in a prison with sub-human conditions, sharing a small space with 40 other women, due to the charge of aggravated homicide.

Now 33 years old and a mother to a two-year-old girl, Cinthia says, "It could have been worse; in El Salvador, there are even women who have received up to 30-year sentences because of a fetus that was stillborn," expressing how much fear and helplessness women still feel.

Whether the person who miscarried is a young girl, a woman who has been raped, or a pregnancy resulting from incest, the result does not change. According to the law, the woman must give birth under all circumstances; otherwise, a decades-long prison sentence is inevitable.

WHEN REASON AND LOGIC ARE DISAPPOINTED

Where reason and logic are disappointed, one should not be surprised and say, "This cannot be true." As we peel back the layers of the issue, we are now certain that a dogmatic rote belief will emerge from behind it. Even if we say, 'Such a practice is not logical, and furthermore, it is against human rights,' it is highly likely that behind this inhumane practice, one will encounter a massive state composed of men, clergy, police forces, and military sanctions.

Because mankind has a consistent behavioral practice of bringing archaic, evil, dogmatic, and dark practices from ages past and persistently drowning in its own ignorance.

THE WITCH LABEL

The fact that women are not being tied to a tree and burned amidst the cheers of a religious and neurotic public is not an indication that sufficient progress has been made in civilization.

In El Salvador, one of the smallest and most densely populated countries in Latin America, if a woman fails to give birth while pregnant, she receives a sentence of up to 30 years. In other words, if she was sentenced at 30, she leaves prison at 60 as a woman who has lost her fertility.

It is impossible not to hear the inner voice of common sense: "If the goal is to increase the population and make women have more children, what is the logic in sending a woman to prison during her most fertile years?"

Another absurdity is the prohibition of terminating the process regardless of the circumstances under which the pregnancy occurred. This includes incestuous relationships, cases where the woman became pregnant as a result of rape, or if she is a minor.

In an incestuous relationship or a pregnancy resulting from rape, it cannot be claimed that either the mother or the child will be healthy. It is very clear that the state, which forces women to give birth under all circumstances, does not have the goal of raising healthy generations with these punishments.

WHY DO THEY ACCUSE WOMEN OF WITCHCRAFT?

So what happens that a woman who loses her baby due to health reasons is found 100 percent guilty and sentenced to decades in prison, even in such a situation beyond her control?

El Salvador is a conservative country where Catholic and evangelical fundamentalists are very influential in politics; while the Catholic population makes up half of the country, evangelists make up 33 percent. Furthermore, followers of the so-called pro-life movement and the anti-abortion lobby are widely represented in parliament.

With the influence of the Catholic faith, the patriarchal religious state officials do not believe that a baby in the womb can die by natural causes.

It is believed that the only reason a woman loses her child is a collaboration with the devil. If a woman could do such a thing, she must be a witch and have collaborated with the devil.

In fact, the phenomenon being judged in court is, in the person of the woman who lost her child, a witch who killed the baby sent by God by collaborating with the devil. Therefore, in the inquisition court they have built in their perverted minds, they see the stillborn fetus as the victim.

They judge the poor young woman as a witch who committed murder. In the diseased judgment of their consciences, it is never possible for the compass to point in the right direction.

There is, of course, a canonical source upon which these terrifying practices are based: Malleus Maleficarum.

The sentences written in this book, which was written about 500 years ago and spread violence and disaster to the dark age in which it was written, are ruining the lives of both women in El Salvador and women exposed to the same mentality in many parts of the world, even 500 years later.

LAW BOOK FOR WITCHES

The book, which was accepted as the law book for witchcraft trials in inquisition courts, has caused many women to be burned to death with its misogynistic, evil, and perverted theories. Furthermore, the book's declaration of midwives as enemies caused many women to die, along with their children, because they could not receive help while giving birth.

"Malleus" means "hammer" in Latin. Although the word is derived from the hammer, which is a physical tool, it metaphorically means to "strike" or "destroy" an enemy or problem.

Maleficarum is the plural form of the word, derived from the root Maleficus, and means "those who do evil" or "those who cause harm." "Maleficarum" is generally used for witches or women who do evil through magic.

Although the book's name has been translated into German as Hexenhammer, meaning "Witch Hammer," its true, terrifying meaning is the deadly blows to be dealt to witches.

The first edition of the book, written by two German inquisitor priests named Heinrich Institoris and Jakob Sprenger, members of the Dominican order, was published in 1486.

The most important reason why the book was accepted as a source for the systematic accusation and punishment of women for witchcraft in the darkness of the Middle Ages is that the preface of the book was sealed by the Pope of the period, Innocent VIII, with the approval of the Apostolische Bulle.

Heinrich Kramer (Institoris) went even further, quoting from the books of Thomas Aquinas and Augustine, who lived before him, rejected superstitions, and prioritized rationalism in religion, manipulating what they wrote in line with his own interests. His tricks must have worked, as the 30,000 copies of the misogynistic book, printed with the influence of the printing press and the approval of the papacy, continue to darken the lives of young women even today.

MALLEUS MALEFICARUM

If we examine Malleus Maleficarum a little more closely, the situation will become even clearer. The title of the eleventh chapter of the book is as follows: "Evidence of the existence of witch-midwives who prevent conception in the womb in various ways, cause women to miscarry, and if they fail in all these methods, sacrifice newborn babies to demons."

The devil prefers women, not men, in these practices because he sees women as closer to himself.

These Witches;

• Prevent a man from being with his wife.

• Even if the man is with her, they prevent the woman from becoming pregnant.

• If pregnancy occurs, they cause a miscarriage.

• Even if the baby is born, they eat the living baby or sacrifice it to the devil.

It may be possible for the first two situations to be achieved through plants without magic; however, we know for certain that it is impossible for the last two actions to be carried out with any plant without the help of the devil; it is impossible to cause a woman to miscarry without reaching an agreement with the devil."

After giving unimaginable examples regarding this subject in the book, signed statements of witches who regretted their actions are included.

According to these statements, there is no other group of people who harm the Catholic faith as much as midwives. Because midwives interfere with God's work. And behind the fact that they are able to carry out this interference are three main forces: the devil, witches, and divine permission.

(The problem of divine permission (Theodicy) is explained in the seventh chapter of the book)

IF THE CHURCH ISSUES A FATWA, THE CONGREGATION BURNS

According to research conducted by the Heinrich Böll Foundation, between 2000 and 2019 in El Salvador, 181 women were arrested and brought to court and sentenced because of the baby they lost before it was born, for whatever reason.

In the official documents and teachings of the Catholic Church, it is stated that "Termination of pregnancy at any stage is unacceptable."

This statement means, in the eyes of the fundamentalist public, that the practices of the Malleus Maleficarum book are approved by the church. Which still shackles the feet of women living in the darkness of the Middle Ages in today's modern world.

While the number of underdeveloped countries surrendering to dogmatic ignorance is increasing day by day, the time for approaching the issue with inertia has passed. It is necessary to write and tell more, more seriously, and more decisively.

Otherwise, we will be forced to hand over our future to a group of men full of monsters who cannot tolerate the voice, silhouette, or even the shadow of a woman.