10-year-old girl denied abortion after rape by stepfather

United Nations human rights experts are speaking out against the nation of Paraguay, saying its government has not done anything to protect a 10-year-old girl who was denied an abortion after being impregnated during a rape.

In a statement, four experts said the girl, who is five months pregnant, was refused life-saving treatment.

Abortion in Paraguay is banned in all cases, even rape or incest, except when the mother’s life is in danger, NBC News reported. The girl’s stepfather was arrested for the rape.

According to NBC News, he was put in isolation to prevent beatings from other inmates and the girl’s mother is being held in prison for negligence.

In Latin America, the risk of maternal death is four times higher among women under 16, “with 65 percent of cases of obstetric fistula occurring in the pregnancies of adolescents,” according to the UN.

According to Associated Press, Amnesty International had also called Tuesday for the government to allow the abortion.

Contact Kristen DeSilva at 702-477-3895 or kdesilva@reviewjournal.com. Find her on Twitter: @kristendesilva