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Tasfia Ahmad discusses the Brazilian public's response to the news that a 10-year-old girl was reportedly raped by her uncle, and became pregnant. Her family fought for the right to an abortion, although this move has been heavily condemned by religious groups: especially those on the far-right. The child's privacy has been compromised, and hospital staff have received abuse, as pro-choice and pro-life activists clash. This article may be distressing for some readers.
Throughout August, protests have taken place across Brazil after a 10-year-old rape victim was granted the right to an abortion. Demonstrators from either side of the debate have been vocal about their concerns.
Judge Samuel Miranda Gonçalves Soares permitted the abortion, as under Brazillian law, if the person is at risk of losing their life during pregnancy or is raped, they are allowed to have an abortion. However, this course of action has sparked outrage among many people and communities within Brazil. There have been anti-abortion protests organized by religious groups to prevent the young girl from moving forward with this procedure. One anti-abortion activist leaked the victim's identity, and published the name of the hospital at which she would receive the procedure. Simultaneously, pro-choice protests have taken place - to not only give this 10-year old girl a right to an abortion, but also to change Brazil’s laws overall.
Earlier this month, the 10-year-old-girl from Espírito Santo State discovered she was 22 weeks pregnant after 4 years of constant rape by her uncle, who threatened her to keep quiet. She and a relative went to a local hospital on August 8 and the doctors confirmed her pregnancy. The girl’s grandmother, who she lives with, did not explicitly comment on the case, but prosecutors were told that the girl sought a termination. Under Brazilian law she had the right to do so. Although local judge, Samuel Miranda Gonçalves Soares, gave the girl permission to terminate her pregnancy, the first hospital she was admitted refused to perform the abortion. Staff claimed they had no authority to conduct this procedure. Following a judge’s intervention and a 900-mile journey to receive care, the girl finally had the abortion on August 17; the procedure was carried out safely, and she is now recovering.
However, when the 10-year-old arrived for her treatment, several anti-abortion protesters were blocking the hospital, as to prevent the girl from coming in. Moreover, the hospital director, Olimpio Moraes was called “murderer” for allowing the abortion to go ahead. To prevent the child coming to any harm, she had to enter the facility hidden in the trunk of a minivan. She was holding on to two stuffed animals.
This incident, although tragic, is nothing new in Brazil. Studies estimate that, every hour, 4 Brazilian girls aged up to 13 are raped. In most cases, the perpetrator is a relative. Abortions are also legal in cases of fetuses with anencephaly, although they can still be near-impossible to access. Only 76 hospital in Brazil, which has a population of 210 million, were performing legal abortions in 2019. In June, that number shrunk to 42 due to COVID-19. Under international human rights law, denying or delaying abortion access for rape survivors can amount to torture.
Brazil is not the only country with abortion restrictions. Countries across the world have various rulings. For instance, countries like Honduras, Nicaragua, Suriname, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica, the Philippines, Laos, Egypt, Iraq, Madagascar, Angola, Congo, Senegal, Mauritania and Sierra Leone completely forbid abortions. In many parts of of South America, Africa and Southeast Asia, abortions are dependent on the person’s health, and/or may be conducted on socioeconomic grounds. Other governments permit abortions within the gestational period: the time-frame between conception and birth. However, this is unique to each country.
Overall, these restrictions have major consequences. According to a 1999 study for the Alan Guttmacher Institute (AGI), there are “46 million abortions worldwide each year, with 26 million taking place under unsafe conditions, resulting in the death of 78,000 women. Millions are injured or disabled because of medical complications." Furthermore, "The AGI researchers found that almost all of these deaths occur in developing countries where of 154 million pregnancies each year, 65 million are unplanned. 13 percent of all pregnancies in Africa, 40 percent in Latin America, and 29 percent in Asia end in abortion–a total of 36 million in those regions alone.”
The 33-year old uncle who allegedly raped the young girl was arrested and charged, although is now reportedly on the run .
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