Abortion Debate Revived Following Death of Esperancita

Abortion Debate Revived Following Death of Esperancita
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, 8/19/2012

She died of Leukemia and was pregnant but the Constitution prevented her from receiving a therapeutic abortion that could have save her life.

The recent death of a young pregnant Dominican teenager who suffered from Leukemia has revived the debate on abortion in the Dominican Republic.

The recent death of a young pregnant Dominican teenager who suffered from Leukemia has revived the debate on abortion in the Dominican Republic.

The case of 16-year-old Rosalba Almonte has become a symbol of the struggle between opposing views within society on this issue.

Over the course of several days, doctors confronted a great deal of pressure to interrupt Ms. Almonte’s pregnancy as she was in need of chemotherapy to prolong her life.

According to the Dominican Penal Code, all forms of abortion are illegal in this country.

Nevertheless, medical authorities sought to do what they deemed to be medically necessary, independent of the pressure being placed on them as well as the opinions being aired in the mass media.

Today is a day of mourning and shame for the country following the death of the teen, as authorities preferred to save her high-risk pregnancy rather than her life, having denied her a therapeutic abortion. This is a feeling expressed by the Women and Health Collective which said, in“this country of all-powerful hierarchs and fearful authorities, it is unlikely we will ever see the results of a complete and transparent autopsy with the exact causes of her death.”

Doctor Liliam Fondeur, Gynecologist and feminist who took the case to the court of public opinion, confirmed that the forensic doctors confirmed to her that a legal autopsy was not carried out.

In the face of this incident, many are now asking whether it was right to end the life of the mother to save the unborn baby. In the meantime, the Almonte family is in deep mourning over the death of Rosalba.

By: E-mail News Services: diariodiitalrd1@ gmail.com.