Mexico Abortion Debate Reopens as Raped 10-Year-Old Girl Becomes Pregnant

International   |   Steven Ertelt   |   Apr 20, 2010   |   9:00AM   |   WASHINGTON, DC

Mexico Abortion Debate Reopens as Raped 10-Year-Old Girl Becomes Pregnant

by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
April 20
, 2010

Mexico City, Mexico (LifeNews.com) — The abortion debate in Mexico has come to a head again as news has traveled across the country about a 10-year-old girl in a Mexican state who became pregnant after her stepfather reportedly committed incest. Abortion is currently legal in Mexico City but not in other states.

The girl lives in state of Quintana Roo on the Yucatan peninsula and most Mexican states allow abortions for rape, incest and protecting the life of the mother.

However, news reports indicate the girl, who is now eight weeks past the 90-day deadline the law requires.

Abortion advocates say the girl was not notified of the ability to get an abortion and they are calling on national and international officials to intervene on her behalf.

"We don’t know what is happening," Maria Luisa Sanchez Fuentes of the Information Group on Reproductive Choice, told UPI. "We’re really asking for accountability."

State Attorney General Francisco Alor Quezada said, according to CNN, that he doesn’t know if the girl was informed about abortion and that he didn’t know how far along the girl was in her pregnancy when her mother reported the sexual assault to authorities.

The girl is currently in the custody of state protective services and the stepfather has been arrested while the investigation continues.

Meanwhile, state lawmaker Maria Hadad is telling news outlets the girl should be able to get an abortion because of alleged physical and mental health risks of giving birth — even though most studies show abortion cause far worse problems for women.

The Mexico capital city approved legal abortions in 2007 and the response from pro-life advocates in states like Quintana Roo has been strong.

Some 17 states, including Quintana Roo, have approved amendments to their state constitution calling for more legal protection for unborn children from abortion.

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