Nine-year-old 'incest victim' aborts twins
- March 5, 2009 - 11:33AM
A nine-year-old girl who was carrying twins, allegedly after being raped by her stepfather, has undergone an abortion despite complaints from Brazil's Catholic Church.
Police said the stepfather has been jailed since last week.
Abortion is illegal in Brazil, but judges can make exceptions if the mother's life is in danger or if the foetus has no chance of survival.
Fatima Maia, director of the public university hospital where the abortion was performed, said the 15-week-old pregnancy posed a serious risk to the 36-kilogram girl.
"She is very small. Her uterus doesn't have the ability to hold one, let alone two, children," Ms Maia told the Jornal do Brasilnewspaper.
But Marcio Miranda, a lawyer for the Archdiocese of Olinda and Recife in north-eastern Brazil, said the girl should have carried the twins to term and had a caesarean section.
"It's the law of God: do not kill. We consider this murder," Ms Miranda said in comments reported by O Globo.
Calls to Ms Miranda were not returned.
Brazil is home to more Catholics than any other nation.
5 comments:
It seems the same with a lot of the "Evangelical" or "Reformed" Churches in the states.
I went to high school in west Michigan and the Reformed Church of America and the Christian Reformed Church would urge their members to make people's life hell if they weren't like them. Glad not ALL Christians are like them. (I find the Quakers (among others) to be pleasant and pretty darn tolerant.)
I all for Christianity. I am actually all for Catholicism too, this is just one of those stories that I couldn't stomach. In general though I would take the RCC over an Evangelical sect any day. I also have the highest respect for Catholic mystics.
It isn't religion, because the RCC could have been replaced in the story by any sect. The issue is authoritarianism and misogyny. The agent just happens to be the RCC.
And, I'm really afraid, Jason, that no matter how much stories like this bother you, as your impending fatherhood becomes actual fatherhood, you will only be angered more by this bullshit.
Saddening. But let's not forget that the Catholic Church houses many people who do not support this twisted and extremist stance called "pro-life".
I am right there with you Brother!
It fascinates me that they only chose the part about though shall not kill and focus on that. There is so much more in that story that my version of the Divine finds abhorant. Did they forget that at the heart of the matter is a 9 year old girl?
Geez, I have no civil words left.
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