A pregnant, 10-year old Paraguayan girl was raped and is unable to acquire an abortion.
A man in Paraguay accused of raping his 10-year-old stepdaughter and getting her pregnant was arrested Saturday, police said.
Benitez Gilberto Zarate, 42, had fled in the wake of the accusation against him. But he denied any wrongdoing to police and local media, and has demanded a DNA test on the unborn child to back up his claim.
An international rights group is pressing the Paraguayan government to allow an abortion for the girl — a procedure that health officials in the South American country have so far blocked.
Sigh. Paraguay is a strongly Catholic country, and abortions make Jesus sad, and so forth.
Now, in most such cases, the doctors eventually declare a medical emergency, perform a Caesarean, and preserve the child’s life; it is quite likely that her life will be protected, albeit underhandedly, and with potentially lifelong consequences.
It is a disgrace that ancient superstitions even bear upon such a vital matter. The sooner humanity is done with religion, the better off we all will be.