If abortion were legal in the country of Chile, an 11-yr-old girl known as “Belén” would likely still be enduring rape by her mother’s 31-yr-old boyfriend.
Belén was recently discovered to be pregnant (now almost 15 weeks) when visiting her grandmother, who alerted authorities. The truth eventually tumbled out that the bf had been raping Belén since she was seven (some reports nine), threatening to kill her and her little brother if she told.
Belén’s mother “shocked Chileans… when she defended him saying his relationship was consensual,” quoting the Associated Press.
It stands to reason Belén’s mother would have seen to it that she got the abortion were it legal, if the bf hadn’t already taken care of it by threatening who knows what. With the evidence killed, the sexual abuse could have carried on unfettered, as it so often does, because abortion covers up rape and incest.
But that’s not what happened, since Chile is one of five Latin American countries that bans abortion under any circumstances, including rape. The perpetrator was caught. Belén’s baby saved her from further sexual abuse.
Upon hearing Belén’s story, abortion zealots went on the warpath, demanding the girl be given an abortion. What a great opportunity she presented to topple such an archaic religious mandate…
11-Year-Old Unable to have Abortion in Chile Because of Jesus https://t.co/8yMJckimW4 #paperli
— Timothy Foy (@HalFoy) July 11, 2013
Could #Chile be the next country to legalize #abortion? Case of pregnant 11-year-old rape victim reignites debate https://t.co/BseT4f58Gz
— LatinAmericanProgram (@LATAMProg) July 10, 2013
But Belén mangled their meme by saying she wanted her baby. With face obscured, Belén was interviewed on television (photo of her holding doll above right). Quoting ABC:
“It will be like having a doll in my arms,” she said, “but well, I am going to love it very much regardless of what it is, and regardless of whether it comes from that man who hurt me.”
Pro-life President Sebastian Pinera drew ire for praising Belén’s “depth and maturity.” This is because, while girls Belén’s age are apparently mature enough to get abortions, they are not mature enough to choose life. That kind of thinking is ”sick,” you know…
This is just sick: “Chile leader praises rape victim, 11 (raped by mother's partner) for shunning abortion” https://t.co/cCsILelyKV
— Pamela Scully (@PamelaScully) July 11, 2013
Others are pushing for Belen to be given an abortion against her will. More from the AP:
But experts say the girl’s life is at risk and that she is not prepared to make a decision about her pregnancy.
“At that age the girl doesn’t have a capacity of discernment, not even at age 14 would she have the mental and emotional capacity to discern this,” said Giorgio Agostini, a forensic psychologist who has worked on dozens of child sex abuse cases.
“It’s very likely that she is saying that she wants to have the baby like a living doll. We’ve seen this in other investigations,” Agostini said. “So what the president is saying doesn’t get close to the psychological truth of an 11-year-old-girl. It’s a subjective view that is not based on any scientific reasoning to support it.”
Former president Michelle Bachelet, the frontrunner in the Nov. 17 presidential elections, favours legalizing abortion in cases of rape or risks to the health of the pregnant woman or the child. The pediatrician who spent the past several years heading the United Nations agency for women, also referred to the child’s case in a recent interview.
“She’s a girl who needs to be protected and therefore I think a therapeutic abortion, in this case because of rape, would be in order,” Bachelet told local Radio ADN.
Even though she doesn’t want it.
What kind of psychologist (forensic?) claims a little girl who wants her baby will be psychologically harmed but forcing her to kill her baby will be psychologically helped? What kind of pediatrician claims it is “protecting” a girl to kill her baby? These people are nuts.
Chloe at the pro-abortion blog Feministing was incensed that Belén compared her baby to a doll….
Chloe darkly concluded, “This is what is looks like when anti-choicers get their way. The most vulnerable people get hurt, and then hurt again, and sometimes, they die,” assuming, apparently Belen is going to die, despite the fact she’s getting the best medical care. And ignoring the fact that if Chloe had her way someone else would most certainly die.
Of course, the girl is 11 and not fully mature and speaking in little girl terms. At any rate, I know plenty of older teens and women who were rudely awakened when their baby turned out not to be a doll. It’s a rather universal naive maternal thought to think of dolls as babies and babies as dolls, shock to you, Feministing. It’s WHY little girls like playing with dolls. They instinctively want to be mommies, despite your best efforts to quash such instincts.
Reprinted with permission from JillStanek.com.