Paper justice.

PIP: This article relates the case of two young girls who became pregnant as a result of rape and their efforts to exercise their rights to terminate the pregnancy. The first victim was a 12-year-old girl from Bolivia and the second was Paulina, a 13-year-old resident of Baja California, Mexico. Though abortion is illegal in both countries, in the case of rape the procedure is "unpunishable" in Bolivia and legal in Mexico. Despite these laws, the girls, their families and their advocates contend repeatedly with local government and Catholic Church officials on the issue. Only the first victim successfully exercised her right to terminate her pregnancy through the efforts of her family and the decision of Penal Judge Luis Ledezma. This paper also highlights the need for reforms in the abortion law in both countries.^ieng

Settlement for Peru women's rights case.

On March 6, 2000, the Peruvian government accepted international responsibility for the rape of a poor indigenous woman by a doctor in the country's public health care system. This rare concession--and the settlement--represent a striking victory for the victim and for abused and oppressed women in Latin America who rarely receive acknowledgement of their rights. The Center for Reproductive Law and Policy (CRLP), along with the Latin America and Caribbean Committee for the Defense of Women's Rights and the Center for Justice and International Law, reached a settlement after bringing this first-of-its-kind women's human rights case before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. The government agreed to provide the victim, Marina Machaca, with psychological care for as long as she needs, as well as land and materials to build a house and property in a public marketplace to sell her wares. In addition, the doctor who raped her was dismissed. Peruvian officials also agree to study the creation of centers for sexual abuse victims, and to review and implement proposals to revamp the health service and judiciary systems in regard to women throughout their country. Luisa Cabal is the CRLP staff attorney who represented Machaca in this international arena.

Ignoring the anguish.

PIP: This article reports the nonapplication of Article 266 in the case of an 11-year-old pregnant girl in Bolivia. Article 266, is a policy on unpunishable abortion. It explicitly states that in extreme cases of pregnancy, such as the consequence of rape, abduction for sexual purposes not followed by marriage, statutory rape, or incest, abortions are not punishable by law. In the case of a developmentally disabled girl in Santa Cruz, who was raped by her stepfather and became pregnant, she was denied the choice of aborting the baby despite the order of the juvenile court judge. This was because the doctors of certain hospitals in the city refused to perform the act and leaders of the Catholic Church and conservative groups opposed the abortion. However, abortion could have been pushed through if the justice system upheld Article 266. In addition, problems in the said article are cited. The article is not sufficient for enforcement as it lacks legislation, which subsequently leaves the rights of women at the mercy of police, doctors, and judges. Although women's rights groups have presented a revised version of Article 266, it still needs the approval of the Chamber of Deputies, the Senate, and finally the president of the Bolivian Congress.^ieng