An Australian family planning group has voiced its dismay as the C-section of an 11-year-old in Argentina made international headlines on Thursday.
The caesarean section was carried out on the girl after she was raped by her grandmother's husband. It reopened the debate about abortion in Argentina, where rules on pregnancy terminations are strict.
The girl and her mother submitted an abortion request, but that procedure took seven weeks as doctors invoked their right to conscientious objection.
At 23 weeks, doctors deemed the girl to be in danger but instead of an abortion, they performed a caesarean section.
"Aside from the dreadful abuse that this young girl suffered, the fact that she was re-traumatised by being denied an abortion until 23 weeks gestation is absolutely unconscionable," acting CEO of Marie Stopes Australia Jamal Hakim told SBS News.
"When you have restrictive abortion laws and restrictive abortion access, you make a common medical procedure very dangerous. The fact is restrictive laws and access do not stop abortions, they just make them unsafe," he said.
According to the group, nearly half of the 56 million abortions worldwide, which take place each year, are unsafe.
"No one should be forced to go through what this young girl went through. It is time that nations like Argentina review their laws so that they are compassionate and safe," Mr Hakim said.
Abuses suffered
In her complaint lodged with authorities in the northern province of Tucuman, the girl said, "I want you to take out of my tummy what the old man put there".
But Argentine authorities often drag their feet in such cases until the legal window for an abortion has passed.
"The child's wishes should have been taken into account. There were two reasons for the abortion," said the family's lawyer, Cecilia De Bono.
Argentine law allows for pregnancy terminations in extreme cases, such as rape or when the mother's life is in danger.
The five-month-old fetus was extracted alive but doctors say it has almost no chance of surviving.
"The State is responsible for torturing Lucia," said #NiUnaMenos, which means 'not one less,' one of the feminist organisations leading the campaign to legalise abortion.
The Tucuman local government justified its actions, claiming to have put in place "the procedures necessary to save both lives."
Last year, a bill to legalise abortion up to 14 weeks was adopted by the chamber of deputies but defeated in the senate, under strong pressure from the church.
In Argentina, the question of abortion is a hugely divisive topic that inspires equally passionate debate from both sides of the argument.
