After much debate in Nicaragua, a nine-year-old girl who became pregnant after being raped was granted an abortion by the Nicaraguan health ministry in a private clinic. She was raped while working on a coffee plantation in Costa Rica, BBC News reports.
At first, the family minister of Nicaragua stated that the child should have the baby because of Nicaragua’s strict abortion policy. Nicaraguan law dictates that abortions are only legal under certain dire situations, including when the mother’s life is in danger. However, the girl’s parents sought special permission to have the pregnancy terminated. According to BBC News, the girl said that she didn’t “want to share [her] toys with other children.”
The Catholic Church spoke against an abortion, while various children’s and women’s rights groups advocated for the girl to have the right to an abortion. The girl underwent the abortion on Thursday in Managua, Nicaragua, and is doing fine, BBC reports. Earlier this week, Costa Rican authorities arrested the man who is connected with the rape allegations.
5/24/2013 All Male House Panel Discusses Anti-Abortion Bill - On Thursday, a panel of eight male members of the House of Representatives met to discuss a nationwide ban of abortion after 20 weeks gestation. . . .
