Young Poland Teenager in Controversial Sexual Abuse Debate Has Abortion

International   |   Steven Ertelt   |   Jun 18, 2008   |   9:00AM   |   WASHINGTON, DC

Young Poland Teenager in Controversial Sexual Abuse Debate Has Abortion

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by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
June 18, 2008

Warsaw, Poland (LifeNews.com) — A 14-year-old girl, who supposedly was raped by a friend and became caught up in a national debate over abortion, has taken the life of her unborn child. New reports from health minister Ewa Kopacz indicate the 11-week pregnant girl, known only by the pseudonym Agata, had an abortion.

Poland prohibits most abortions and Agata’s mother had tried to use a section of the law allowing abortions for young girls in cases of sexual abuse.

However, reports indicate pro-life advocates tried to persuade her against doing so. On the other side, abortion advocates pressured both the girl and her mother to move ahead with the abortion.

According to an Irish Times report, Agata was raped in April by a fellow student and a doctor informed both her mother and police she had become pregnant as a result.

Agata’s mother applied for permission to get the abortion and, when the pair went to a local hospital to have it done, Agata was ushered into a meeting with Fr. Krzysztof Podstawka, who heads the pro-life group Protection of Life.

The girl told the Gazeta Wyborcza, Poland’s largest newspaper, that the doctor had declined to do the abortion and that she agreed to sign papers saying she wouldn’t have the abortion.

However, once her mother heard the news, she contacted the pro-abortion Women’s Federation in Warsaw and the group led the mother and daughter to an abortion facility.

According to the Gazeta Wyborcza, the girl had the abortion someplace in Gdansk.

"This was the decision of the minor and her mother," Ewa Kopacz told reporters.

The newspaper, which is run by a prominent abortion advocate, also apparently misreported the facts of the case.

A local prosecutor, according to the Catholic World News web site, indicated Agata was never raped and that she requested Father Podstawka’s help because he runs a local home for unwed mothers.

As a result, it appears the girl’s mother and abortion advocates may have pressured Agata into having the abortion.

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