Judge in Argentina rules rape victim does not have to undergo abortion

Buenos Aires, Argentina, Sep 17, 2008 / 09:33 am

After weeks of investigation, a family court judge in the Argentinean province of Mendoza blocked a request by a woman that her 12 year-old daughter, who became pregnant through rape, be forced to undergo an abortion.  The girl had expressed her desire to keep the baby and doctors testified an abortion would have carried serious medical and psychological risks.

Judge German Ferrer told reporters the abortion would not be going forward and announced measures to protect the girl and her baby.  “The fetus a developing person,” he said.  The girl was raped by her step-father, who is now in police custody.

Ferrer said guardianship of the girl would be granted to her grandmother, who did not want her to undergo an abortion either.

He ordered local officials to ensure the girl would be able to continue her education during her pregnancy, and he asked the Ministry of Social Development, which is providing her housing, to also provide her with psychiatric and psychological care both during and after the pregnancy.

He also ordered she be provided a subsidy to help with grocery and other expenses for her and the baby.

The girl’s mother had made the request for an abortion at the end of August, alleging she was experiencing mental problems.

Judge Ferrer ruled that “after analyzing the entire situation, it was clear that” an abortion “could have induced a severe personality disorder, due to irreversible psychiatric pathologies such as psychosis.”

He said he had been given detailed reports from medical experts that showed the girl would not suffer any physical or psychiatric risk by continuing with the pregnancy.