Raped, Pregnant and Denied a Life Saving Abortion
A 10-year old girl from Latin America arrived at the hospital on April 21st of this year with severe discomfort. The doctors quickly discovered that the cause of the girl's discomfort was the fact that she was 21-weeks pregnant.
It seems as if this country is going backwards since the court case Roe v. Wade was announced. I fear for women's future in America as states are starting to put more restrictions on abortions and are attempting to turn women into second-class citizens with fewer rights than a fetus.
Unfortunately, at such a young age, the girl was raped by her stepfather and was considered high risk by the World Health Organization because her body is not fully developed enough to carry a baby. In Latin America, the risk of maternal death is "four times higher among adolescents younger than 16 years old."
The mother of the 10-year old girl submitted an "administrative plea to request an abortion." However, because of the extremely strict laws, this procedure is only permitted when the mother's life is in danger. There are no other exceptions. Not even for rape. not even for incest or an unviable fetus. The authorities in her country denied the girl a safe and therapeutic abortion and she was instead transported to a center for young mothers.
I strongly believe that such restrictions on abortion access violate international human rights laws and standards and that it should be the mother's choice of how she would like to spend the rest of her life. This 10-year old girl has the rest of her life ahead of her, and she should not be forced to spend it raising a child that was born out of rape.
Thankfully, Amnesty International is currently attempting to "show humanity and respect the dignity and wishes of this young girl and her mother." The business is trying to ensure that the young girl and young girls like her have complete access to their rights, including the right to an abortion "in the cases of rape, incest and when the life or health of the mother is at risk."
It seems as if this country is going backwards since the court case Roe v. Wade was announced. I fear for women's future in America as states are starting to put more restrictions on abortions and are attempting to turn women into second-class citizens with fewer rights than a fetus.
These tragic events impact us as a society as we continue to allow rape to be normalized even if the victim is a child. Unfortunately, women aren't even aware they are pregnant by 6 weeks, nonetheless a child. I believe we are wrong on the mentality of supporting a fetus, when a living and breathing child is going to suffer the tremendous impact of not only being raped, but carrying a child at such a young age. Why are we supporting such an awful ideal that does not impact just all women, but the fetus that will grow up to know how they were created into this world that comes with hardships just being alive? I AM DISGUSTED.
ReplyDeleteTo begin with, I am disgusted about how a ten year old girl would become pregnant in the first place. I do not believe that it is right to regulate abortion this tightly. If a woman or girl gets an unwanted pregnancy, I believe she should be able to get rid of it if they choose. Additionally, this girl is way too young to have a baby and I believe it is very dangerous for her to go through childbirth.
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