11-Year-Old Romanian Allowed to Have Abortion

The Christian Post is reporting that the Romanian government has ruled that an 11-year-old girl who was raped and impregnated by her 19-year-old uncle will be allowed to have an abortion.

Pro-life Christian Orthodox groups had threatened to press charges if the girl was allowed to have an abortion in Romania since it would be beyond the 14 week legal limit. The girl is 21 weeks pregnant.

The stance of the church groups was in contrast to the Romanian Orthodox Church’s official view that the decision should be left to the girl’s family. The parents initially wanted to travel to a country where it would be legal.

“We are talking about … the rights of this child who was subjected to rape and incest,” said Theodora Bertzi, a Labor Ministry official and who was sitting on a committee, made up of government officials and experts, who ruled on the case.

Constantin Stoica, spokesman for the Romanian Orthodox Church, to which more than 80 percent of Romanians belong, said Wednesday it was “an exceptional situation which must be treated in an exceptional manner and the family is the only one to take this decision.”

He said the church considers abortion a crime, but this belief applies to normal circumstances and not to incest or rape.

I don’t understand why the manner in which a woman becomes pregnant should determine if the baby should be killed or not. A baby is a baby, no matter where the sperm came from. Yes, the fact that this little girl was abused is a terrible crime. Yes, to carry the pregnancy to full-term and deliver the baby would be a traumatic experience. But to resolve the crime that happened to this girl by committing another crime–the murder of an unborn baby–is not right.

According to the article, the pro-life Christian Orthodox church groups offered to help the family with financial and spiritual aid and even offered to help raise the child if the girl gave birth. Think about the long-term effects on this girl if she has the abortion. When she’s old enough to understand what happened, she is sure to experience an agonizing guilt and horror at what her family made her do.