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24 Nw. U. J. Int'l Hum. Rts. 1 (2026)

handle is hein.journals/jihr24 and id is 1 raw text is: Copyright 2025 by Megan Osadzinski Volume 24, Number 1 (2026) Northwestern Journal of Human Rights GENDER PERSPECTIVE(S): LESSONS FROM INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS LAW TO DEFEND AGAINST PREGNANCY RELATED PROSECUTIONS Megan Osadzinski* ABSTRACT-The criminalization of pregnancy outcomes-such as miscarriages, abortion, obstetric emergencies, and stillbirth-is a violation of fundamental human rights guarantees; including the right to a fair trial when read in conjunction with the right to equality and the right to health. This article outlines state obligations under international human rights law toward women charged in pregnancy prosecutions, translating them into national criminal defense strategies using a gender perspective. Using intersectional theory, this article calls for the use of a gender perspective to challenge such prosecutions as unlawful gender-based discrimination and a gendered violation of due process, using the case study of the prosecution of Aurelia Garcfa Cruceno, a Nihua Indigenous woman who was charged with aggravated homicide to a family member in Mexico following a late- stage obstetric emergency and stillbirth. After spending almost three years in prison following a flawed plea agreement, she successfully challenged the plea using a gender-responsive defense strategy drawing from international human rights law. This approach is anchored in the Manuela v. El Salvador landmark ruling of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR), where the court addressed the arbitrary detention and death in prison of a woman who was wrongfully convicted of murder after experiencing an obstetric emergency during the third trimester. Finally, this * Megan Osadzinski (J.D., LL.M) is a PhD Researcher in Law at the European University Institute (EUI) in Florence, Italy. Previously, she was the Michael and Mary Schuette Clinical Fellow in Health and Human Rights and Adjunct Professor at Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law (2022- 2024), where her work focused on inter-disciplinary, community-based human rights projects. The author wishes to express immense gratitude to her co-panelists at the Northwestern Journal of Human Rights (JHR) 2025 Annual Symposium, Law Professor of Law and Director of Loyola's Rule of Law Institute and Program in Rule of Law for Development Juliet S. Sorensen and human rights lawyer Ver6nica Garz6n Bonetti of the Instituto Mexicano de Derechos Humanos y Democracia (IMDH), for their contributions to this strategy for intersectional legal interventions using international law. She also wishes to thank the Editorial Board of the Northwestern JHR and Center for International Human Rights (CIHR) faculty. This article is dedicated to Aurelia and all women globally who have been persecuted and criminalized as a result of their pregnancy outcomes. 1