Advocate: 13-year-old in Mexico denied abortion in rape

MEXICO CITY – Officials in northern Mexico have denied an abortion to a 13-year-old girl who was raped by a family acquaintance, an advocacy group said Monday.

Abortion is legal in Mexico in cases of rape. But Regina Tames, director of the Group for Information on Reproductive Choice, said officials in Sonora state are relying on a judge’s decision to classify the assault on the girl as a crime in which consent was obtained through deception or seduction, reasoning it falls short of rape.

“She has the right as the victim of sexual aggression to end the pregnancy,” Tames said. “The classification of the crime doesn’t matter.”

The attack occurred in May, but the group did not become aware of it last week, Tames said. The family reported the assault to state investigators the same day it occurred.

The girl was not offered emergency contraception upon reporting the rape, Tames said.

A representative in the communications department for the Sonora state health agency said officials were meeting about the case and would comment later.

Tames said the family was considering bringing the girl to Mexico City for an abortion where it is legal up to 12 weeks.