Pro-life group denounces efforts by congresswoman to punish local judge

Buenos Aires, Argentina, Aug 8, 2006 / 22:00 pm

The organization Pro-Life Argentina has denounced calls by two pro-abortion lawmakers to sanction a lower court judge who ruled against allowing a mentally handicapped woman who conceived through rape to undergo an abortion.  

In a case that has received extensive media coverage, the mother of the handicapped woman had asked for authorization that her daughter receive an abortion.  The request was denied by lower court Judge Ines Siro in the city of La Plata, who ruled that efforts should be made to preserve the lives of both the mother and the baby.   Her ruling was reaffirmed by the Court of Appeals but overturned by the Supreme Court of the Buenos Aires province. 

Nevertheless, the abortion was not carried out as doctors refused to perform the procedure, arguing that the baby was too far along in development for the abortion not to pose serious risks to the mother.

Now two federal lawmakers, Diana Conti and Graciela Rosso, have called for sanctions against Judge Siro.

According to Pro-Life Argentina, the two congresswoman are seeking to punish Siro as a warning to other judges who might issue similar rulings.  “They are trying to intimidate the rest of the judiciary and condemn them for decisions that don’t sit well with certain politicians who are acting like political commissars, trying to impose their ideas on everyone by force,” the organization stated.

Pro-Life Argentina pointed to inconsistencies in the petition filed by the mother of the pregnant woman, which the group said justified the ruling issued by Judge Siro and cast doubt on the decision of the Buenos Aires Supreme Court.  “During the course of the trial it became clear that it was not proven that the young woman had been raped, as her mother claimed.   Legal briefs proved that no one has been charged, convicted or even investigated for the crime. Expert witnesses showed that the alleged mental handicap was ‘moderate’ and that the young woman in question is aware of who and where she is, moves about on her own, uses a cell phone and has a boyfriend.  It was also shown that she voted in the last elections and that she has engaged in sexual relations for some time.”