Dominican Mother Challenges Abortion Ban After Daughter's Cancer Death

Rosa Herminia Hernández, mother of Rosaura Almonte, filed a constitutional challenge on Wednesday against the Dominican Republic's absolute abortion ban—one of the strictest in the region. Rosaura, who was 16 years old, died in 2012 from leukemia while three weeks pregnant after doctors delayed her cancer treatment due to her pregnancy. "My daughter died because she was denied the medical care she needed. No other mother should have to go through this," Hernández said in a statement accompanying the filing to the Constitutional Court.

The challenge, supported by civil society groups including Christian organizations, argues that the ban violates fundamental rights to life, health, dignity, and equality. It seeks to allow abortions in cases of rape or incest, when a woman's or girl's life or health is in danger, or when a fetus has fatal abnormalities. Attorney Patricia Santana Nina stated: "This action seeks something very simple: that no woman or girl should have to choose between her life, her health and the law."

The Dominican Republic criminalizes abortion without exception, imposing sentences of up to two years imprisonment for women and five to 20 years for healthcare providers or midwives. Government data documented at least 67,455 abortions in the public health sector from 2019 through late 2024, though these figures do not distinguish between spontaneous and induced abortions. Criminal prosecutions for abortion have declined since late 2022, when authorities stopped publishing such statistics.

The challenge highlights documented cases of harm resulting from the ban, including a 2023 case where a woman with three children—one born from rape—was detained for ten days in inhumane conditions after suffering a spontaneous abortion, without receiving adequate medical care. It notes that in 2024, at least 585 girls aged 11 to 14 became mothers, and at least 681 rapes were reported from January to July 2025, with activists noting the actual number is significantly higher.

Human rights advocates emphasize that the ban disproportionately affects vulnerable populations. Wealthier women can access private medical care domestically or abroad, while impoverished women face greater health risks and heightened exposure to criminal prosecution. "The women who are persecuted often share conditions of socioeconomic vulnerability, job insecurity, low educational level, or migratory status," the challenge states. Health providers are frequently the source of reports to authorities, further deterring women from seeking necessary medical care.