From:  The Pro-Life Infonet <infonet@prolifeinfo.org>
Reply-To:  Steven Ertelt <infonet@prolifeinfo.org>
Subject:   9-Year-Old Nicaraguan Girl Gets Abortion
Source:   Associated Press; February 21, 2003

Managua, Nicaragua -- A pregnant 9-year-old Nicaraguan girl received an
abortion at a private clinic and was recovering well, a private
organization said Friday.

The abortion took place Thursday night in Managua, said Violeta Delgado, a
spokeswoman for the Organization of Women Against Violence. She said three
doctors contacted the family and offered to carry out the abortion.

``The girl is fine,'' she said. ``She is happy. She is in an excellent
state of health. (The parents) are very happy also to have this situation
resolved.''

The girl's parents have said she was raped in Costa Rica presumably by a
young coffee harvesting farm worker on land where the parents of the girl
worked. Authorities there have taken a suspect into custody.

The family returned to Nicaragua after the rape and insisted that their
daughter be allowed to have an abortion. The girl was 16 weeks into her
pregnancy.

An abortion in Nicaragua requires a medical board's approval, but the
board earlier this week issued an ambiguous ruling that said the girl
faced the same health risks whether she had an abortion or carried her
baby to term.

Abortion is allowed in Nicaragua only in extremely cases of sexual abuse,
when the mother's life is in danger, and when the unborn child has severe
deformities. All must be confirmed by three separate specialists and the
government medical board must approve.

Nicaragua's Family Ministry had said it would seek to prosecute anyone who
helped the family. The Roman Catholic Church also tried to persuade the
family to have the girl carry the baby to term, offering to keep her and
the baby at a local orphanage.