[Trigger warning: sexual assault, child abuse, child sex abuse]

Recently, the story of 11-year-old Lucía (a pseudonym used by her lawyers), made headlines in Argentina. The underage girl living in the city of Tucumán, was in the custody of her grandmother when she was sexually abused by her grandmother’s 65-year-old boyfriend, and became pregnant.

Lucía discovered she was pregnant in January, after visiting a clinic due to severe lasting stomachaches. The doctors discovered she was 19 weeks pregnant and sent her to a public hospital in Banda del Río Salí. At the hospital, Lucía and her mother clearly declared their wish for the pregnancy to be terminated. Based on later court papers, Lucía had said “I want this thing the old man put inside me taken out,” to the doctors.

None of this was legal

Unfortunately, the procedure proved far more complicated than it should be. Argentina decriminalized abortions in case of rape in just 2012 and abortions in general, are allowed exclusively in cases of rape or if the pregnancy poses a threat to the mother’s life. In accordance to these criteria, Lucía should still be able to have an abortion, but no. The authorities were stalling the decision, using the excuse that Lucía’s mother was no longer her legal guardian. Her grandmother was also stripped of her status as the girl’s guardian, because she was co-habiting with the man who raped her. In reality, the huge wave of anti-choice supporters that is drowning the country was behind those bureaucratic issues. A very strongly conservative “pro-life” movement affects negatively the introduction of laws on women’s reproductive rights. At the same time, the movement gives its blessing to the unwanted pregnancies and the emotional and physical abuse of adult and underage women, covered by a religious sheet.

Once it was reported by the media that an abortion was requested, local officials and “pro-lifers” were trying their best to stop the abortion. The girl’s mother, relatives and a group of lawyers filed for a legal interruption of the pregnancy. Until the court made a decision, Lucía remained at the hospital, where even there, doctors were giving her medication to accelerate the growth of the fetus, lying to her that it was vitamins, according to her lawyers. The practice was clearly illegal.

The doctors deliberately withheld information crucial to her medical situation and acted on their judgment and personal interest, neglecting the patient’s rights and wishes. According to Fernanda Marchese, executive director of Human Rights and Social Studies Lawyers of Northeastern Argentina, the hospital also allowed anti-abortion proponents to visit Lucía’s hospital room. They urged her to have the baby, warning that she otherwise would never get to be a mother. According to Ms. Marchese, when the group of lawyers first met Lucía in the hospital, they were faced with a desperate and anguishing situation. The family had not been given the necessary information to be able to exercise their rights.

The court eventually allowed an abortion, after the public outcry and the legal support of pro-choice movements. Even then, it didn’t end up happening the way it was supposed to. Hours before the procedure was to take place on Feb. 26, 2019, the authorities ordered the hospital to “continue with the procedures necessary to attempt to save both lives” – Lucia’s and the fetus.

Too little too late

Lucía had reached her 23rd week into her pregnancy and a usual, vaginal abortion was not physically achievable, anyway. She would have to go through a hysterotomy abortion, in which the fetus is removed via a small incision in the abdomen, similar to a caesarean section. The doctors of the hospital refused to perform the abortion, declaring themselves “conscientious objectors.” The hospital then turned to a couple of private-sector doctors to perform the abortion, Jorge Gijena and Cecilia Ousset, who are both pro-choice.

“When we were faced with this girl, I almost became sick, my knees turned weak,” Dr. Ousset told the New York Times. “She wasn’t developed and was playing with toys and her mom.” Lucía was expecting to have an abortion, according to Ousset. “We said, ‘Let’s go,’ and Lucía jumped from her bed, eager to start the procedure.” In the operating room, Dr. Ousset put on music to try to make Lucía more comfortable, but the girl’s blood pressure rose to a perilous level. “The girl’s life was at risk,” Dr. Ousset said during a phone interview. “At no moment was it our intention to force the girl to give [a] live birth,” said Ousset punctuated with tears. The delivery was eventually completed and the newborn was put in intensive care. The baby was not expected to live. It died 10 days later.

Ousset has publicly come forward and is blaming the governor of Tucumán for the brutal violation of this little girl’s rights and the forced delivery. “I believe that [the governor of Tucumán] Juan Manzur, due to an electoral issue, prevented the legal interruption of the pregnancy and forced to the child to give birth,” Ousset told the Buenos Aires Times. Manzur is denying the accusations and claims that what was done was what the family had asked for.

The sad truth is that there are a lot of stories like this one taking place in Argentina and all over the world. Every word used in this case is a constant violation of human rights on bodily autonomy, a proof of the inhuman mistreatment women have to deal with, if they decide to have an abortion. This little girl was misinformed, lied to and disgustingly bullied by adults. Adults who are supposed to be responsible, know better and protect children, who are a vulnerable group. Instead they commenced a psychological and bureaucratic war against her which would have never benefited anyone. Even if the baby had lived, how would life be like for it, or Lucía?

Anti-choice = Abuse

This story is challenging us to think deeper about the importance of female reproductive rights. It also makes us wonder: How many options does a woman really have to terminate her pregnancy in Latin America? Broad abortion is legal in only 4 countries in Latin America (Cuba, Guynana, Puerto Rico and Uruguay), which still doesn’t make it socially acceptable. If a woman tries to end her pregnancy by herself it could lead to infections, diseases and death. Nevertheless, that doesn’t make it less possible to happen in countries where it’s prohibited.

Lastly, in all those countries that abortion isn’t fully legal, a DIY abortion could result in incarceration, as it is punishable by law. Multiple women who already had children and terminated a pregnancy on their own, ended up in jail for years. The anti-choice policy and the harsh, unjust treatment of women only resulted making citizens feel unsafe, insecure, unable to practice body autonomy and in kids growing up without their mothers. So, where were all these people who “want to save both lives” then?

Amnesty International is taking a stance on the matter and is trying to gather petitions to stop what is happening, sign here.

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