The dispute over abortion has divided Brazil for years - here women protest against a ban in 2017
Photo: Cris Faga / NurPhoto / Getty ImagesThe legal abortion of a ten-year-old girl who was raped by her uncle has sparked heated controversy in Brazil. As various Brazilian media reported, the justice of the state of Espírito Santo asked social networks to delete publications containing information about the girl.
According to Brazilian law, termination of pregnancy is permitted after rape and if the mother's life is at risk. Such cases are usually dealt with in silence. According to a report by the news platform "Pernambuco", the data of the girl who was raped came to the public. An arrest warrant was therefore ordered against the uncle that he was on the run.
Women's and Family Minister Damares Alves regretted the judiciary's decision on Facebook to grant the girl the right to have an abortion. The minister considered the intervention dangerous.
A right-wing activist even published the name of the girl and the hospital. The girl had to be taken to a special hospital after a clinic in Espírito Santo refused the operation. Abortion opponents and conservative politicians had gathered in front of the hospital, calling the doctor in charge a "murderer".
According to the Brazilian Public Safety Yearbook, four Brazilian girls under the age of 13 are raped every hour. Most of the perpetrators are therefore relatives. According to statistics, 66,000 cases of rape were registered in 2018, more than half of which were girls under the age of 13.
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