An NGO has called out Jalisco’s Health Department (SSJ) for allegedly refusing an abortion to a 12-year-old rape victim earlier this month.
The Jalisco branch of the Network for Sexual and Reproductive Rights (Ddeser) filed a complaint with the State Human Rights Commission (CEDH) charging that doctors tried to persuade the girl not to terminate her pregnancy, saying she did not receive sufficient guidance or psychological support during her stay in the hospital, the Materno Infantil Esperanza López Mateos in Guadalajara’s Colonia Moderna.
According to Ddeser Jalisco representative Patricia Ortega Medellín, one week after being admitted to the hospital, doctors arranged the girl’s transfer to a hospital in Mexico City, where the abortion procedure was performed successfully. She said the SSJ claimed not to have the necessary personnel to carry out the procedure in Guadalajara.
CEDH investigator Mariana Sofía Márquez said information regarding the case has been requested from the SSJ and three other institutions, including the State Attorney’s Office for the Protection of Girls, Boys and Adolescents (PPNNA).
Ortega Medellín said a family member was responsible for the sexual attack on the girl, who lives in a Wixárika indigenous community in northern Jalisco. She said it is the responsibility of the PPNNA to bring the perpetrator to justice, fully restore the victim’s rights, and provide her with the necessary care and support.