Paraguay 'Completely Rules Out' Abortion for 10-Y-O Girl Allegedly Raped by Stepfather; Catholic Leader Says Controversial Case Is 'Diving Country in Two'

By Stoyan Zaimov, Christian Post Reporter Monday, May 11, 2015

A woman living in poverty gives milk to her baby near a poster of Pope Francis (top), in Asuncion, May 8, 2015. The Pope will celebrate two masses, visit a children's hospital and poor neighborhoods along the Paraguay River wetlands during his visit. | (Photo: Reuters/Jorge Adorno)

Paraguay's Health Minister Antonio Barrios has said that an impregnated 10-year-old girl will not be granted the abortion her mother is seeking, despite pressure from human rights groups to allow the procedure in this case. A leading Catholic clergyman has meanwhile said that the controversial case is "dividing the country in two."

"The pregnancy will not be interrupted," Barrios affirmed, according to AFP. "We've already completely ruled out abortion."

The girl's mother, who cannot be named for legal reasons, initially brought the girl to a public health clinic back in April, believing she had a tumor, but the clinic affirmed that the girl is six months pregnant. The mother has been charged by authorities as an accomplice in her daughter's rape, and has been placed under arrest.

When the mother was denied a request for her daughter to have an abortion, however, agencies such as Amnesty International spoke out against Paraguay's laws and said that they are "tantamount to torture."

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The deeply Roman Catholic country allows abortion only in cases when the mother's life is directly in danger. So far, however, the special ward for pregnant adolescents at a Red Cross Hospital, which is taking care of the young girl, has not said that her life is in danger, despite her age.

Barrios has added that the state will oversee the baby's prenatal care when it is born.

"The Justice Department will determine later who will have custody of the mother and child after (the birth)," he revealed.

The Associated Press noted that the case has drawn "unusually strong attention" on the country's stance on abortion, which has also stirred its faith community.

"The country is divided in two," said Msgr. Claudio Gimenez, president of Paraguay's Episcopal Conference. "Some want to legalize abortion, the killing of an innocent who still is in a period of gestation. And for the other side, those who oppose that idea."

42-year-old Gilberto Benitez, the girl's stepfather, was arrested on Saturday after nearly 15 days on the run, but has denied that he is responsible for the pregnancy.

"I will do any (paternity) test to show it wasn't me," he said, claiming he was set-up by his girlfriend. "I've been with tons of women, and I never got anybody pregnant."

Amnesty said that forcing the 10-year-old to carry the child three more months to full-term is wrong.

"The physical and psychological impact of forcing this young girl to continue with an unwanted pregnancy is tantamount to torture," said Guadalupe Marengo, deputy director of Americas Program at Amnesty International.