Two Day Magazine

I was reading http://www.cnn.com today when I came across this disturbing story. A little 10 year old girl was raped by her stepfather and became pregnant recently. The stepfather has been arrested, but the situation has fueled the abortion debate on both sides of the issue that has been raging in Mexico.

“This girl is much more than an isolated case,” said Adriana Ortiz-Ortega, a researcher at Mexico’s National Autonomous University. She has penned two books on Mexico and abortion. “There is much more influence now from conservative groups that are trying to prevent the legalization of abortion."

I didn’t know very much about abortion rights in Mexico, but apparently it is legal in Mexico City, yet severely restricted or outlawed in most of the country’s states. The little girl is from the state of Quintana Roo, which is located on the Yucatan peninsula. This specific state allows abortion in cases of rape during the first 90 days of pregnancy, but this little child is at 17.5 weeks, barely month past the legal limit.

There is controversy surrounding this situation because advocacy groups are calling for the United Nations and federal officers to investigate Quintana Roo’s handling of this issue, citing the fact that officials did not inform the child or her family of her abortion rights before it was too late.

“We don’t know what is happening, and the institution that is supposed to provide support and care for these minors hasn’t been transparent. We are really asking for accountability,” states Maria Luisa Sanchez Fuentes, director of the Information Group on Reproductive Choice.

The State Attorney General Francisco Alor Quezada explained that he wasn’t sure of whether officials had told the girl that about her options in pursuing an abortion and he didn’t know how far along the girl’s pregnancy was when her mother reported the rape to authorities in March.

Where is the little girl now? She is in state protective services and her physical and psychological care is being closely monitored. “I do not think there is another instance in which the girl could be in better hands.” He stated on Monday. Really? This is the best they can do? She is still so early on in the pregnancy and being denied an abortion. The mother isn’t even allowed to be with her and they are basically forcing her to have a child with a man who raped her. Yup, she is in great hands.

Quintana Roo state legislator Maria Hadad thinks the girl’s doctors, who claim she and the fetus are in good condition, are not telling the whole truth. She believes that continuing the pregnancy is going to lead to severe physical and mental health problems for the child.

“It is not just a high-risk pregnancy. It’s a pregnancy that puts the girl at risk,” stated Hadad to Mexican broadcaster Channel 10 in Chetumal, Mexico.

Beginning in 2007, 17 Mexican states have passed religious-based laws “protecting life beginning at conception,” according to the Information Group on Reproductive Choice. Those changes were made to the constitution last year by legislators in Quintana Roo, home to the popular resort, Cancun.

Needless to say, the Catholic Church vocally opposes abortion in Mexico and the debate has been fueled further since 2007, when Mexico City approve a new law legalizing abortion during the first trimester with no restrictions. This decision was challenged, but ultimately upheld in 2008.

What really upset me about this situation was that these people seem more concerned with principles than with practicality. Give the girl an abortion and let her move on with her life. This is absurd. They live on these self-righteous l high horses, while innocent children are raped and have to carry to term a baby that they are basically forced to have. Where is the justice in this situation? She is the victim. She is a TEN YEAR OLD. Her body isn’t even fully developed yet. This pregnancy is a constant reminder of her pain and suffering, which will only continue after the baby is born, as well. Instead of looking at these situations rationally, these conservative groups are looking at them from a religious standpoint. Not one of their arguments against abortion ever really is without a religious component.

The whole “right to life” and “life at conception” are terms coined by the Catholic church to ensure more people being born into their churches. By creating a climate of fear and hate towards others, the Catholics have whipped people into a frenzy over a very personal decision that should only be made between a woman and her midwife/doctor.

We need to de-stigmatize a medical procedure that many women all over the world choose to do every day. This poor little girl has suffered enough. Is their God so cruel as to make her continue to suffer over a situation that she had no control over? They have all this compassion for some dividing cells, but none for the child staring them in the face with weeping eyes over the loss of not only her innocence, but thanks to them, her childhood, as well.