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| PHOTO CREDIT: blogs.psychcentral.com |
A 10-year-old girl who was raped by her
stepfather has allegedly been denied the abortion she desperately
needs, Asunción, Paraguay.
The child was found to be 21
weeks pregnant after arriving at local hospital complaining of stomach
pains. Later it was revealed that the girl’s pregnancy came as a result
of being raped by her stepfather. But despite the girl’s mother request
she has allegedly been denied a life-saving abortion and sent to a
centre for young mothers.a
The
director of the hospital has reportedly publicly acknowledged that the
girl’s pregnancy was a risk to her health and life, despite her being in
stable health condition. Amnesty International claim that denying the
girl an abortion is “tantamount to torture” and forcing her to carry the
child to full-term is a “further violation of her rights”.
Latin
America is known for its strict anti-abortion laws, with five of the
seven countries in the world where termination is banned in all
instances there. Abortion in Paraguay is illegal except when the
mother’s life is in danger, with doctors (or the women themselves)
performing the operation facing stiff penalties, ranging from 15 to 30
month in prison.
