The case of an eleven-year-old girl sparked a fundamental discussion about abortion in Bolivia. The Catholic Church is said to have deliberately prevented abortion.
La Paz – The Catholic Church has long been criticized for its negative attitude towards abortion. Now, however, the case of an eleven-year-old girl has sparked a new discussion about abortion in Bolivia.
The eleven-year-old is said to have raped several times by her step-grandfather and then became pregnant, according to the British daily The Guardian. However, the Catholic Church in Bolivia speaks out against abortion. A crime can not be solved with another crime, said the church, according to the Catholic News Agency (KNA).
After an eleven-year-old was raped in Bolivia – Catholic Church speaks out against abortion
The eleven-year-old is said to have lived in the eastern Bolivian region of Santa Cruz with her sisters and her 61-year-old step-grandfather, who is now in prison for the crime. The girl’s parents are said to be working in another city, which is why the children were placed in the care of the step-grandfather, according to The Guardian.
An abortion is legal in Bolivia in the event of rape even after a pregnancy of up to 13 weeks. According to reports, the girl is said to be in her fifth month. Ana Paola García told The Guardian that she was pregnant at first. She is the managing director of La Casa de la Mujer, a Bolivian NGO for women’s rights. “She told her cousin that she felt something move inside her stomach. Her cousin told her mother – the girl’s aunt – who reported it to the police. “
The Catholic Church is said to have deliberately prevented abortion
The girl was then taken to the Percy Boland Women’s Hospital in the city of Santa Cruz last Friday (October 22nd, 2021). As a minor rape victim, according to the law, the eleven-year-old could have had an abortion even after the 13 weeks had elapsed. According to a constitutional resolution from 2014, abortion in the event of rape is legal without the need for a court order, according to the managing director of the NGO.
According to local media, the girl is said to have originally opted for an abortion. However, the child’s mother then stated that the girl had changed her mind. She was accompanied by a church lawyer. The eleven-year-old was then taken from the hospital to a church center for young mothers. “Apparently there is manipulation by the Catholic Church that practically kidnapped the girl and silenced the mother,” García told The Guardian. Susana Inch, a spokeswoman for the Bolivian Bishops’ Conference, told local media on Wednesday (October 27th, 2021): “We have an ethical and legal obligation to protect the life of the baby, both lives must be protected.”
Protests against the Catholic Church in Bolivia – “Girls are not mothers”
The Catholic Church is said to have made an offer of help to the family, which is viewed by women’s rights organizations as an attempt at manipulation. The girl’s mother is said to have been offered a job so that the family could provide for the unborn child’s upkeep and its subsequent education. This was reported by local media. The pregnant girl should be able to make a decision without fear of the economic consequences of pregnancy. Because the church is responsible for an unwanted and forced pregnancy with its attitude, it should now face criminal consequences. However, the church denied trying to influence the family.
Women’s rights organizations in Bolivia are now opposing the church and holding protests. “Girls are not mothers,” it says on posters. Numerous demonstrators demanded the right to self-determination over their bodies *. According to the KNA, they are no longer ready to leave the Catholic Church with the ethical authority to interpret this issue. Violence against women is a major social problem in the country. Bolivia is one of the countries with the highest rates of female homicide and the highest rate of sexual violence in Latin America. Usually family members are the perpetrators. In 2020, a woman was officially murdered on every third day and a child on every seventh day, according to the Weltfriedensdienst eV
Possible manipulation of the church – former health minister speaks of “kidnapping”
Former Health Minister Gabriela Montano supported the demonstrations for women’s rights in Bolivia this week. She spoke of the kidnapping of the child to bring her to a different decision by placing the girl in a church facility where other victims of rape and abuse would be cared for.
The government had previously commented on the case. Interior Minister Carlos Eduardo del Castillo wrote on the short message service Twitter: “If an eleven-year-old girl is forced to carry a child to term that is the result of rape, all of her rights will be violated.” Experts now expect the Bolivian judiciary to deal with this Case and will make a landmark decision on abortion law.
In the meantime, the United States has also spoken out: “A girl’s forced pregnancy is considered torture,” said a UN statement this week. The United Nations made it clear that the protection of the rights of girls who have been victims of sexual violence must be respected. Abortions are currently a big issue in the United States too. Because of the controversial abortion law in Texas *, many people recently demonstrated. (Anna Charlotte Groos with kna) * fr.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA
