A 13-year-old teenager living in Goiás was denied a legal abortion by the Goiás Court of Justice, after her father went to court and requested the prohibition of the procedure. The young girl was already 28 weeks pregnant by the time of this judgment.
In testimony to the Tutelary Council in her area, she stated that she wanted to terminate the pregnancy when she was 18 weeks’ pregnant. In messages sent to the council, she said that if she did not have access to the procedure, she would find a way to do it on her own.
In testimony to the Tutelary Council, the suspected abuser reportedly stated that he did not know the girl’s age and that if he had known, he would not have had relations with her. According to another report, however, the abuser was known to the girl’s father.
The girl’s father, according to the council, had asked to speak with the abuser to ask him to take responsibility for the baby.
Legal experts apparently stated that the decision of a minor under 18 is not sufficient for the procedure to be carried out, and that authorization from the guardian(s) is required. This has been challenged.
CALL TO ACTION – SIGN THE PETITION / CRIANÇA NÃO É MAE.ORG
#SaveTheGirlFromGoiás #ChildIsNotAMother
Attempts to prohibit the right to legal abortion in cases of rape threaten the childhood of thousands of Brazilian children. Every year, 20,000 become mothers, more than 70% of whom are black.
🚨URGENT: We need to mobilize again! While Bill 1904, known as the Rape Bill, is being processed urgently in the Chamber of Deputies, the courts are taking action to deny the right to a legal abortion to a girl in Goiás!
At the age of 13, she was abused by her own father’s friend – who is against abortion – despite the girl’s wishes. That is why the case ended up in court, where she was denied this right.
If you are from Brazil, please sign the petition: https://criancanaoemae.org
The judge and the appellate judge have already been summoned by the National Council of Justice due to this violation of the girl’s rights, but as of yesterday nothing had happened – the girl remains with her father, pregnant, without access to a legal abortion.
STOP PRESS!! Bia Galli reports:
The news has just come through from Brazil at 11pm London time on 25 July that the girl has won her appeal and can indeed have the abortion she requested! The President of the Superior Court of Justice issued a decision authorizing the 13-year-old girl from Goiás to get an abortion arising from the appeal by the Public Defenders’ office. [This appears to confirm that even a young girl under the age of 16 who has been raped has a right to seek an abortion with or without parental consent.
SOURCES: Folha de S. Paulo, by Isabella Menon, 17 July 2024 ; PHOTO: Protest against limiting legal abortion, by Marcelo Oliveira/Onzex Press e Imagens ; Call to Action: CRIANÇA NÃO É MAE.ORG ; STOP PRESS: Folha de S. Paulo, by Monica Bergamo, 25 July 2024.