1. THE FRONT LINES
SUMMER 2015
The day after her release from the overcrowded Salvadoran prison in which she had spent
seven years, Guadalupe told her story before a group of supporters and press.
“I was 18 years old when I suffered a terrible tragedy. I became pregnant after being raped,
and then lost the baby before it was born,” she said. “But when I was taken to the hospital I
was treated as a criminal.”
Continued on page 2
FROM THE FRONT LINES

2. THE FRONT LINES CENTER FOR REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS www.reproductiverights.org2
FROM THE FRONT LINES cont. from page 1
Surrounded by supporters and human rights advocates, Guadalupe spoke out following her release from prison, February 2015.
Under El Salvador’s extreme abortion ban, which criminal-
izes the procedure in all circumstances—including to save
a woman’s life—countless women have been wrongfully
prosecuted and imprisoned after suffering pregnancy com-
plications and miscarriages. Guadalupe, like many others,
was unjustly accused of abortion and convicted of murder
with a sentence of 30 years.
“I have now spent most of my adult life behind bars for
something I did not do,” she said.
More than a dozen other women are being held under
similarly brutal circumstances. They are known around
the world as “Las 17”— originally 17 women charged with
homicide, each serving prison sentences of up to 40 years.
Guadalupe is the only one to have been pardoned so far.
In December, a coalition led by the Center and our local
partner, Agrupación Ciudadana, launched the Las 17 online
campaign to generate global pressure for the release of the
wrongfully imprisoned women.
Dozens of organizations and hundreds of individuals gener-
ated thousands of social media posts targeting Salvadoran
members of Congress in the run-up to Guadalupe’s pardon
vote in January.
We have so far collected over 26,000 signatures petition-
ing Secretary of State John Kerry to call on El Salvador’s
government to free the remaining women of Las 17.
“The more people know their stories, the more pressure
Salvadoran authorities will receive and the more likely it is
that we will be able to stop this systematic human rights
violation,” says Paula Avila-Guillen, the Center’s advocacy
adviser for Latin America and the Caribbean.
Our relentless efforts have paid off. After human rights
advocates around the world publicly denounced the
country’s criminalization of abortion and 12 countries
came together as part of the Universal Periodic Review
by the United Nations Human Rights Council to call on
El Salvador to ease the ban, authorities agreed to pardon
Guadalupe in mid-February. This is the most significant
government response we have seen yet.
The Center also called on UN human rights experts to
speak out. Following Guadalupe’s release, a group of
experts representing six countries issued a statement—
a virtually unprecedented act—in support of her pardon.
They urged Salvadoran authorities to release the other
women and repeal legislation which criminalizes abortion
in all circumstances.
We are also building pressure to eliminate the total abortion
ban altogether. Through the Inter-American Commission on
Human Rights, we are pursuing justice for the remaining
Las 17 cases, as well as for four additional women’s cases
that emerged in the past year. This advocacy has the
potential to bring about broad change not only in
El Salvador, but across the entire region.

3. 3THE FRONT LINES CENTER FOR REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS
Last March I stood with
hundreds of women in
Brownsville, Texas, amid
chants demanding salud,
dignidad, justicia (health,
dignity, justice). These
women and countless
others are stranded with-
out affordable reproductive
health care, thanks to drastic state funding cuts and
anti-choice laws that have closed more than half the
clinics in Texas.
I felt deeply moved and honored to be part of this
extraordinary event—one that epitomizes the
transformative work the Center does around the world.
Over the last four years, we have mobilized an unprec-
edented effort to restore essential care for Texas women,
documenting the injustice, litigating tirelessly in the
courts, and collaborating with policymakers to develop
proactive solutions to the unfolding crisis.
Our Nuestro Texas campaign, launched in partnership
with the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health,
leverages the Center’s human rights expertise to expose
the serious violations taking place in a particularly vul-
nerable part of the state, the Lower Rio Grande Valley.
We organized a human rights hearing following the
rally to amplify the voices of the women most directly
affected by the state cuts. An impressive array of
lawyers, policymakers, doctors, and human rights
experts from around the world listened as local women
testified about how barriers to reproductive care have
impacted their lives and jeopardized the health of their
families.
As one woman, Josefina, testified, “I used to have two
clinics nearby, but now I would have to travel around 50
miles to my closest clinic to receive annual checkups.
But I do not have access to these services because I
lack transportation and money. Being able to prevent
illness should be within every woman’s reach.”
The Nuestro Texas campaign is just one example of the
work you make possible across the country and around
the world—from Kansas to Kenya, and from North
Carolina to Nepal.
Thank you, as always, for your committed support.
Together, we are building a world in which every woman
is free from discrimination and ill treatment—and free
to achieve her full human potential.
Sincerely,
Nancy Northup,
President & CEO
FROM THE PRESIDENT
““BY ENCOURAGING PEOPLE
TO SPEAK OUT, WE CAN
CHANGE THE CULTURE
OF SHAME AND STIGMA.
- Nancy Northup

4. THE FRONT LINES CENTER FOR REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS www.reproductiverights.org4
Karen Hanrahan, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in
the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, has been
appointed the Center’s new Chief Program Officer. A widely recog-
nized expert in international human rights and foreign policy, Hanrahan
brings more than two decades of experience leading social change and
building effective organizations. She will oversee the Center’s legal and
policy work in the U.S., Latin America, Asia, Africa, Europe, and at the U.N.
“I am honored to join the leadership team of such a committed, effective
organization,” said Hanrahan. “I have seen the Center’s results-driven legal
and policy work produce direct, positive impact on people and communities
around the world, and I am excited to be part of this inspiring movement.”
Richard Ryan has joined the Center as our new Chief Operating
Officer. He serves as a member of the Center’s executive management team
and oversees the Center’s financial and administrative operations, including
information technology, human resources, monitoring and evaluation, and
strategic and annual planning.
Ryan possesses outstanding experience in growing global operations for a
multinational nonprofit, and an impressive background in financial manage-
ment and staff development. He comes to us from the Rainforest Alliance,
where he was Senior Vice President of Finance & Administration and Chief
Financial Officer.
“I am proud to join an organization that is so well-respected across the globe
and working on issues so critical to the lives of millions of women.” Ryan
said. “I look forward to bringing my experience to the Center’s dedicated
and passionate team and building on the organization’s successes.”
Nicki Nichols Gamble, former President and CEO of the Planned
Parenthood League of Massachusetts, has been appointed the new
chair of the Center’s board. She succeeds Rebecca J. Cook, Faculty Chair
Emerita in International Human Rights and Co-Director of the International
Reproductive and Sexual Health Law Program in the Faculty of Law at the
University of Toronto, who continues to serve on the board.
Heather Podesta, founder and principal of Heather Podesta +
Partners, a cutting-edge government relations firm, is the newest addition
to the Center’s board. She is a leading legislative and public policy strategist
in Washington, D.C.
LEADERSHIP UPDATES
Karen Hanrahan
Richard Ryan

5. 5THE FRONT LINES CENTER FOR REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS
KEEPING POLITICIANS OUT
OF THE EXAM ROOM
In a unanimous decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals
for the Fourth Circuit permanently blocked a 2011
North Carolina law that would force women to
undergo a narrated ultrasound before receiving
abortion care. The Court said “the state cannot
commandeer the doctor-patient relationship to
compel a physician to express its preference to
the patient.” We are now fighting to protect this win
at the U.S. Supreme Court.
JUSTICE FOR PEACE CORPS VOLUNTEERS
After 30 years of an arcane policy that denied abor-
tion coverage to Peace Corps volunteers in cases of
rape and life endangerment, the Obama administra-
tion created a budgetary fix that extends the same
coverage to volunteers that is offered to other federal
employees. It took sustained advocacy and pressure
by the Center and the National Peace Corps Associa-
tion to change this glaring injustice.
OUTSTANDING HUMANITARIAN WORK
HONORED
The National Abortion Federation awarded its high-
est distinction—the Christopher Tietze Humanitarian
Award—to the Center’s Janet Crepps, senior counsel
in the U.S. Legal Program. The annual award honors
“significant, lifetime contributions in the field of abor-
tion care or policy.” In her more than 20 years with
the Center, Crepps has worked on 50 cases in 20
states. She is an inspiration and mentor to countless
attorneys and advocates.
ENDING CHILD MARRIAGE
Our efforts in Asia helped produce the region’s first
call to action demanding that governments take
concrete steps to end the devastating practice of
child marriage. Outlining specific recommendations
such as minimum age requirements, legal remedies
for violations, and accessible sexual and reproductive
health counseling, the groundbreaking action plan
has garnered widespread support from officials and
human rights activists. Without intervention, 130
million South Asian girls could be forced into
marriage by 2030.
IMPACT: The Return on
Your Investment

6. THE FRONT LINES CENTER FOR REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS www.reproductiverights.org6
CENTER EVENT
IN GENEVA
OUR OFFICE OPENING
At the Hotel d’Angleterre overlooking Lake Geneva on a starry
November night the reception room was packed to capacity with
its own stars—high-level members of the international human
rights community. They had gathered to celebrate a landmark
development in the global pursuit of reproductive rights: the
opening of the Center’s new office in Geneva, Switzerland.
Over 20 United Nations ambassadors attended, including the U.S.
ambassador to the Human Rights Council, Keith Harper, and the
Danish ambassador, Carsten Staur, both of whom voiced hearty
support for the Center. The launch of the office marked a critical
advance in the Center’s increasingly integral role at the UN, as well
as a deeper and more expansive relationship with our other civil
society partner organizations active in Geneva.
“Having an office in Geneva raises the Center’s profile as an
organization and as a resource with UN missions,” says Rebecca
Brown, the Center’s director of global advocacy. “Much of the
crucial behind-the-scenes UN work happens between the big
meetings—often at the last minute. Having an established local
presence allows us to participate consistently as key players.”
Prominent maternal health advocate Princess Sarah Zeid of Jordan
and General Secretary of the World YWCA Nyaradzayi Gumbonz-
vanda offered the keynote addresses. Members of influential UN
human rights committees, including chairpersons of the Committee
Against Torture, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination
Against Women and Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights, also took part in the event.
Photos: Manuel Pompeia

7. 7THE FRONT LINES CENTER FOR REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS
Cindy Soohoo, Director of the CUNY Women’s Human
Rights Law Clinic; Mr. Ephrem Bouzayhue Hidug,
Minister Counselor at the Ethiopian mission; and
Julie Gromellon, Senior Global Advocacy Adviser.
Ambassador Keith Harper, US Ambassador to the
Human Rights Council.
Nancy Northup and Her Excellency Ms. Aya Thiam
Diallo, Permanent Representative from Mali.
Ambassador Carsten Staur of Denmark.
Princess Sarah Zeid of Jordan

8. 199 Water Street, 22nd Floor
New York, New York 10038
Tel 917 637 3600 Fax 917 637 3666
www.reproductiverights.org
MAKE A LASTING GIFT
By remembering the Center for Reproductive Rights in your will or with other
planned gifts, you can help safeguard the fundamental rights of all women to
reproductive health care, regardless of where they live, for generations to come.
For more information on planned giving contact the Development Office at
contribute@reprorights.org or phone (917) 637 3791.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Nicki Nichols Gamble – Chair
Laurie G. Campbell – Treasurer
Nonnie S. Burnes – Assistant
Secretary
Aimee B. Cunningham – Assistant
Secretary
José Alvarez
Cynthia Blumenthal
Phyllis Cohen
Rebecca J. Cook
Roberta M. Goss
Monica Harrington
GENERAL COUNSEL
Yvonne Y.F. Chan,
Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP
FRONT LINES STAFF
Nina Riggs – Writer/Editor
Carveth Martin – Senior Creative & Designer
PRESIDENT
& CEO
Nancy Northup
Jonathan Kaufelt
Janet Levinger
Jamie A. Levitt
Heather Podesta
Amy Metzler Ritter
Kathleen Tait