Abortion laws are not ‘pro life’ when they ignore women
Inhuman cases, especially in Latin America, expose the vacuity of claims that they are there for protection

Kenan Malik
Sun 25 Mar 2018

We don’t know her name. She was aged 14 and her rape had led to a pregnancy. Under Paraguay’s savage abortion laws she was denied a termination and died in childbirth. “Her body was not ready for a pregnancy,” said Hernán Martínez, director of the National Hospital of Itauguá.

In Paraguay, as in many Latin American countries, abortion is permitted only when the life of the woman is threatened (and, as this case shows, the threat to the life of a 14-year-old in childbirth doesn’t count). Three years ago, a 10-year-old girl who became pregnant after her stepfather allegedly raped her was refused an abortion.

Continued: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/mar/25/abortion-womens-rights-latin-america