To save or to slaughter

It was only the beginning of an uproar that signalled how Latin America has become the focus of an international battle over abortion. The dilemma has transfixed Nicaragua, a predominately Roman Catholic nation, where abortion is illegal except when the mother’s life is in danger.

Finally, a panel of doctors concluded that either pregnancy or abortion presented a threat to Rosa’s life, prompting a women’s group to whisk the girl away for the secret procedure. The family was kept in a safe house until the nation’s attorney general ruled the abortion legal.

The Catholic Church noted that excommunication was automatic for anyone involved in the abortion — including Rosa and her family. ‘‘This has opened the door to a slaughterhouse,’’ said Msgr. Jorge Solorzano, the country’s second-ranking Catholic official.

Latin America, a Catholic region, has had among the world’s toughest laws governing abortion. All of its Spanish-speaking countries, with the exception of Cuba, prohibit elective abortion. The rise of newly democratic legislatures and the defeat of Leftist regimes have allowed the Catholic Church to mount lobbying campaigns to further tighten laws or eliminate legal abortions altogether.

In April, a march with 60,000 people is planned for Good Friday. The effort is focused on the National Assembly that will discuss a reformed criminal code later this month that has been stalled for years over the question of whether to further penalise abortion.

The idea is to convince lawmakers to change the law so that abortion would only be permitted when it occurs as a ‘‘consequence’’ of an operation to save a pregnant woman’s life. Rafael Cabrera, a gynaecologist who heads Nicaragua’s largest anti-abortion group, said: ‘‘If the field opens to abortions here, it will have a domino effect’’ in Central America, he said.

Women’s rights groups have launched campaigns to preserve existing abortion rights and, in a few cases, ease restrictions. Publicity surrounding the rape of a 13-year-old girl in Mexico a few years ago resulted in some states adding exceptions to abortion bans. The groups note WHO statistics showing that one-fifth of maternal deaths in Latin America are related to unsafe abortions, the highest of any region in the world.

Rosa was 8 when she was raped last November. She was living with her parents in a farming town and has provided a formal statement to police that a Costa Rican neighbour, identified only by his last name, Barquero, 20, raped her. Barquero, who was arrested and is in custody, has denied the charges. Costa Rican prosecutors say they want to perform a DNA test but that Nicaraguans have told them they cannot find the foetus’ remains. ‘‘The DNA test would be the definitive test to determine whether the suspect fathered the foetus,’’ said Sandra Castro, a spokesperson for Costa Rica’s judiciary.

Rosa’s rape became embroiled in international politics as soon as it became public and it took a week to convince the Costa Ricans to issue a passport allowing the family to go back to Nicaragua.

Rosa’s parents have now relocated to Managua, the capital, fearful that they will be ostracised in their community. They are looking for work while Rosa is preparing to go back to school. ‘‘Part of her is still a child. But part of her is now mature,’’ said Marta Maria Blandon, the psychologist counselling the family. ‘‘This is a child whose childhood has been aborted.’’ (LAT-WP)