The Cuban Regime Forced Political Prisoner to Undergo Abortion Against Her Will
Lisdany Rodríguez, who was sentenced to eight years along with one of her triplets for participating in the July 2021 protests, had long wished to become pregnant but was denied medical assistance in prison.
By Camila Acosta | abc.es
Cuban State Security forced a prisoner of conscience, Lisdany Rodríguez Isaac, to undergo an abortion against her will, as denounced by the NGO Prisoners Defenders (PD). “Lisdany and her husband, after years of trying to have a child, met in the conjugal pavilion, and to their surprise, she became pregnant with a much-desired child. She was almost seven weeks pregnant. State Security officers at the Guamajal prison forced her to abort, denying her medical care, food, and medicine, and coercing her to terminate the pregnancy,” Javier Larrondo, president of PD, told ABC earlier this year in January.
This information was corroborated by Lisdany’s mother, Bárbara Isaac, who explained that she learned of the news through a phone call from her other daughter, Lidiani. Both are 25 years old and are triplets. Two of them are imprisoned and are detained in the women’s prison in Guamajal, in the Cuban province of Santa Clara, serving an eight-year sentence for participating in the anti-government protests on July 11, 2021 (11J).
“She had never been able to get pregnant, and the baby came at this moment. She wanted it, she didn’t want to abort it,” Bárbara Isaac told ABC. The mother also stated that her daughter suffered from dizziness but was denied medical assistance. “I feared they would force her to abort, and something would happen to her; I feared for the life of my daughter and her baby,” she added.
Larrondo called for solidarity to save the baby’s life. “At PD, we defend the life of this baby and hold the Cuban government responsible for committing murder. A forced abortion, against the mother’s will and without clinical reason, is nothing but murder resulting from state terrorism,” he stated.
Legalization of Abortion in Cuba
In Cuba, abortion was legalized in 1936 but only in cases of rape or if the pregnancy caused health problems for the pregnant woman. It was not until 1961 that it was decriminalized (it is not legalized as there is no regulation about it), and four years later, it began to be practiced within the National Health System and for free. This way, Cuba became the first country on the continent to decriminalize abortion.
Prisoners of Conscience
The Rodríguez Isaac sisters have been in prison since July 15, 2021. They were accused of “contempt,” “public disorder,” and “assault” after participating in the 11J protests; eight months later, they were sentenced to eight years in prison.
In August 2023, Cuban authorities denied them certain improved prison conditions as retaliation for writing a letter to commemorate the second anniversary of their imprisonment and for refusing to stand firm when prison officials passed by. Their mother has repeatedly exposed the harassment and physical and psychological torture they were subjected to due to their rebelliousness and constant denunciations.
Both belong to the Association of Free Yorubas of Cuba (Afro-Cuban religion). In September 2021, the Global Alliance for Liberty (GLA) requested precautionary measures for four members of the Association of Free Yorubas of Cuba before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, including the Rodríguez Isaac sisters.
“Recently, the United Nations defended their cause in the accusatory letter sent by four special rapporteurs and the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention. The four rapporteurs and the UN working group who defended Lisdany’s cause as a persecuted Yoruba already have my new complaint. Let’s see if they act quickly and we save the baby’s life,” Larrondo explained.
Record Number of Political Prisoners
According to PD, Cuba ended 2023 with 1,063 political prisoners, most of them associated with the 11J protests, maintaining the record number for the third consecutive year. The NGO described the past year as marked by “hopelessness for those naïve enough to think the Havana regime would back down.”
Additionally, it criticized the international community represented in Havana, accusing it of having “mild or non-existent” actions in defense of human rights. It pointed to the European Union, Canada, and Norway, accusing them of “shameful actions for democratic Europeans,” while lamenting the insufficiency of the Vatican’s efforts.
Read the full article in English on abc.es, assisted by Google Translate.