# Las 17: "What is happening in El Salvador is not so far removed from the US," (Lexington Herald-Leader, 10/27/2014) Quoted in *The Lexington Herald-Leader*. “[UK Doctor Finds Live Birth Test Flawed in Prosecution of El Salvadoran Women](https://www.the-messenger.com/article_b8dfa22c-5ddc-11e4-b88d-1fe42ec9706b.html).” October, 26, 2014. Sort ## *What is happening in El Salvador is not so far removed from the United States, where some groups are advocating for a "no abortion, no exception" rules, Viterna said.* "Salvadoran women who claim to have suffered miscarriage or stillbirth are being imprisoned for up to 40 years for intentionally killing their children... \[dubbed "Las 17"\] has been the focus of a report by Amnesty International and has received extensive coverage in the press in El Salvador.... Jocelyn Viterna, an associate professor of sociology at Harvard University, became interested in the cases of the 17 women while working on a book about women in war in El Salvador. Vitnera heard of Davis from a friend as she was working to help a Salvadoran feminist group, Citizens' Group for the Decriminalization of Abortion, gain pardons for the woman. Viterna, who is now researching discrimination against pregnant woman in El Salvador, said the plight of the women in prison is tied to changes in Salvadoran abortion laws in the 1990s. Abortion was outlawed in El Salvador, she said, following a backlash to minor changes in the countries abortion laws." ## ## Viterna in the News [### JOCELYN VITERNA ](/jocelyn-viterna) Jocelyn Viterna is Professor of Sociology at Harvard University. Her current research examines how the passage of anti-abortion legislation in El Salvador transformed the Salvadoran legal, judicial, and medical systems, with powerful and negative... description [### SOCIOL 1000: Introduction to Sociology ](/sociol-1000-introduction-sociology) Spring 2025 This course introduces students to the complicated, conflictual, and often contradictory theoretical origins of sociology as a discipline. We begin by reading the standard sociological “canon”—Marx, Weber, and Durkheim—and interrogating why... description [### SOCIOL 3316: Politics and Social Change ](/sociol-3316-politics-and-social-change) Fall 2024 and Spring 2025 The Politics and Social Change Workshop promotes the development of a community of scholars interested in how power relations shape social patterns in societies around the world. We define ‘politics’ broadly to include everything... description ## **JOCELYN VITERNA** ### Professor of Sociology, Chair of Studies of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Harvard University ![Viterna headshot 2023](/sites/g/files/omnuum1826/files/viterna/files/head_shot_jan_2023_0.jpeg) ## Contact Prof. Viterna [jviterna@wjh.harvard.edu](mailto:///jviterna@wjh.harvard.edu) [Office Hours Sign-up](https://calendly.com/viternastudents/officehours) [Department of Sociology](http://sociology.fas.harvard.edu/) 33 Kirkland Street William James Hall 480 Cambridge, MA 02138 Faculty Assistant: [Sandra Llewellyn](https://sociology.fas.harvard.edu/people/sandra-llewellyn)