Lucky To Be Alive – Despite Paraguay’s Restrictive Abortion Law
Lucky To Be Alive Despite Paraguays Restrictive Abortion Law
August 14, 2015 at 5:04 PM
By Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas Director at Amnesty International
It was a situation almost too heart-wrenching to comprehend. In April this year came the news from Paraguay that Mainumby (not her real name) then a 10-year-old girl, had become pregnant after she was repeatedly raped, allegedly by her stepfather. The girl had been taken to hospital several times in a four-month-period before the pregnancy was discovered.
After finding out the horrific news, Mainumbys mother, whose legal complaint against her daughters abuser had fallen on deaf ears, made a request to the authorities to allow her daughter to have an abortion. But the government refused it, and instead moved the girl into a home for young mothers.
The reason? Paraguay, like many other countries in Latin America, has some of the worlds most restrictive abortion laws where terminating a pregnancy is only allowed if the life of the pregnant woman is at risk. Authorities decided this case did not fall under the exception, despite the risk that a pregnancy poses to such a young girls physical and mental health.
Despite a global and national outcry, the authorities never budged and last night the case came to its conclusion, as Mainumby now 11 years old gave birth via caesarean section. Thankfully, both the girl and the newborn appear to be in stable health condition.
More:
http://blog.amnestyusa.org/americas/lucky-to-be-alive-despite-paraguays-restrictive-abortion-laws/