Description

“There are many women like Belen whose names we don’t know, but whose stories are just as important. An uplifting chronicle of one woman’s fight for justice.”-Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Foreword by Margaret Atwood

The heartbreaking true story of an Argentinian woman imprisoned for having a miscarriage-an injustice that galvanized a feminist movement and became a global rallying cry in the fight for reproductive rights.

In 2014, Belen, a twenty-five-year-old woman living in rural Argentina, went to the hospital for a stomachache-and soon found herself in prison. While at the hospital she had a miscarriage-without knowing she was pregnant. Because of the nation’s repressive laws surrounding abortion and reproductive rights, the doctors were forced to report her to the authorities. Despite her protestations, Belen was convicted and sentenced to two years for homicide.

Belen’s imprisonment is a glaring example of how women’s health care has become increasingly criminalized, putting the most vulnerable-BIPOC, rural, and low-income-women at greater risk of prosecution. Belen’s cause became the centerpiece of a movement to achieve greater protections for all women. After two failed attempts to clear her name, Belen met feminist lawyer Soledad Deza, who quickly rallied Amnesty International and ignited an international feminist movement around #niunamas-not one more-symbolized by thousands of demonstrators around the globe donning white masks, the same kind of mask Belen wore when leaving prison. The #niunamas movement was instrumental in pressuring Argentine president Alberto Fernandez to decriminalize abortion in 2021.

In this gripping and personal account of the case and its impact on local law, Ana Correa, one of Argentina’s leading journalists and activists, makes clear that what happened to Belen could happen to any woman-and that we all have the power to raise our collective voices and demand change.

Translated by Julia Sanches

Publisher Review

“What Happened to Belen is a harrowing and revelatory account of how one woman’s life was turned upside down and how she never stopped fighting for her innocence. Ana Correa poignantly recounts how so many systems failed Belen, the movement that sprung to action to free her, and most importantly, what happened to Belen in Belen’s own words on her own terms. This is an essential read detailing the harms created by police in healthcare settings, abortion stigma, and the criminalization of pregnancy outcomes whether it’s in Argentina or the United States of America.” – Renee Bracey Sherman, abortion activist, founder of We Testify, and author of Liberating Abortion

“As this stirring account shows, there are many women like Belen whose names we don’t know, but whose stories are just as important. An uplifting chronicle of one woman’s fight for justice.” – Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“A poignant and inspiring account of women organizing on behalf of women.” – Publishers Weekly

“Ana Correa poignantly recounts how so many systems failed Belen, the movement that sprung to action to free her…an essential read detailing the harms created by police in healthcare settings, abortion stigma, and the criminalization of pregnancy outcomes whether it’s in Argentina or the United States of America.” – Literary Hub

“In this gripping, moving, and personal account, Correa shows how Belen’s experience could happen to any woman but at the same time, we all have the power to raise our collective voices and demand change.” – HipLatina