clipped from: edition.cnn.com LONDON, England (CNN) -- Pregnant women in Peru are dying at scandalous rates, according to the author of an Amnesty International report into maternal mortality in the South American country.
The report, "Fatal Flaws: Barriers to Maternal Health in Peru" found that hundreds of poor, rural and indigenous pregnant women are dying because they are being denied the same health services as other women in the country.
Peruvian government figures state 185 in every 100,000 women die in child birth, but the United Nations says the number is much higher at 240, which makes it one of the highest rates of maternal mortality in the Americas.
In wealthy developed nations, only nine women die for every 100,000 births.
"The Peruvian state is simply ignoring its obligation to provide adequate maternal healthcare to all women, regardless of who they are and where they live."