An 11-year-old girl is pregnant in Chile and it's truly heartbreaking. And not just because of the circumstances surrounding her pregnancy. You see, she's a victim of rape by her mom's partner–a disgusting man who had been abusing the little girl since she was 9 years old.
The little girl, though, is in desperate need of a life-saving abortion, but she's not allowed to undergo one, despite the fact that the conception was due to rape and it might save her life. The reason for this, though, is unbelievable in this day and age…
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Laws in Chile (and in most of Latin America) forbid any type of abortion–even those, like this case, that is due to a rape and is needed for life-saving reasons. The debate, which is known as the "Belén case" in social media, has reignited the abortion debate in Chile–a much-needed discourse that should be addressed not only in Chile but throughout Latin America.
The 11-year-old victim in Chile is around 14 weeks pregnant and her mother's boyfriend admitted to having abused the little girl since she was 9. The girl's grandmother reported the continued abuse to authorities. Doctors in this case are saying that the girl's life and that of the fetus are in danger. But in Chile, medically necessary abortions were outlawed by dictator Augusto Pinochet in the 1970s.
The case of this little girl is heartbreaking on so many levels. First, it's unconscionable that an 11-year-old–a fifth grader!–is pregnant, and all because of a rape. But then it's sad that the laws in her country don't allow for the procedure that might save her life. In this medically necessary case, I think laws should make an exception.
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