Child rape case splits Nicaragua

The parents of a nine-year-old Nicaraguan girl who was raped are facing prosecution after she had an abortion in a private clinic in Managua last week.

The authorities announced on Saturday that they were searching for the family and seeking the identities of the three doctors involved.

The prosecutor general, Julio Centeno Gomez, said: "We are investigating whether or not there was a violation of the law."

The girl was raped in Costa Rica in November and infected with two venereal diseases. No prosecution has been initiated in Costa Rica.

Nicaragua allows abortion only in cases of exceptional risk to the woman. The government had appointed a medical panel to rule in the case, but the three specialists ambiguously concluded last week that the girl "runs the risk of severe damage, even death, whichever of the two alternatives is taken."

The girl's parents went ahead with the abortion last week, having written to the president accepting full responsibility for the decision. The girl, who had been 16 weeks pregnant, is said to be recovering well.

Her plight has split the government and Nicaraguan society.

In his Sunday mass, the Cardinal of Managua, Miguel Obando y Bravo, said those who had participated in the abortion were "ipso facto" excommunicated. He called for legal action against the doctors.

The country's penal code lays down one to four years' imprisonment for women consenting to terminations, and five to 10 for the doctors.

© Guardian News & Media 2008
Published: 2/24/2003
 
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