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October 24, 2012
SOLIDARITY REQUEST: República Dominicana
Posted by verena buschmann under Activism, Law reforms | Tags: Dominican Republic |Leave a Comment
October 23, 2012
SOLIDARITY ALERT: Dominican Republic
Posted by verena buschmann under Activism, Law reforms, maternal health/mortality, Politics | Tags: Dominican Republic |Leave a Comment
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September 19, 2012
Dominican Republic: Pregnant teen dies after abortion ban delays her chemo treatment for leukemia
Posted by verena buschmann under Illegality, maternal health/mortality, Medicine | Tags: Dominican Republic, maternal death |Leave a Comment
From Rafael Romo, Senior Latin American Affairs Editor
updated 11:11 AM EDT, Sat August 18, 2012Mom blames doctors for daughter’s death
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- The pregnant teen dies after doctors delay her chemotherapy
- Doctors say the treatment would violate the country’s abortion ban
- She finally started treatment after a 20-day delay
- “They have killed me, I’m dead, dead. I’m nothing,” her mother says
(CNN) — The mother of a pregnant leukemia patient who died after her chemotherapy was delayed over anti- abortion laws is accusing doctors of not putting her daughter’s health first.
The 16-year-old’s plight attracted worldwide attention after she had to wait for chemotherapy because of an abortion ban in the Dominican Republic.
Doctors were hesitant to give her chemotherapy because such treatment could terminate the pregnancy — a violation of the Dominican Constitution, which bans abortion. Some 20 days after she was admitted to the hospital, she finally started receiving treatment.
She died Friday, a hospital official said.
Fights over abortion rights
At the time the treatment started, Rosa Hernandez, the girl’s mother, said she tried to convince doctors and the Dominican government to make an exception so that her daughter’s life could be saved.
“My daughter’s life is first. I know that (abortion) is a sin and that it goes against the law … but my daughter’s health is first,” Hernandez said.
The teen died from complications of the disease, said Dr. Antonio Cabrera, the legal representative for the hospital.
“They have killed me, I’m dead, dead. I’m nothing,” her mother said. ” She was the reason for my existence. I no longer live. Rosa has died. Let the world know that Rosa is dead.”
The patient was 13 weeks pregnant.
Her body rejected a blood transfusion and did not respond to the chemotherapy, and her condition worsened overnight, Cabrera said.
She then suffered a miscarriage early Friday, followed by cardiac arrest, and doctors were unable to revive her.
Representatives from the Dominican Ministry of Health, the Dominican Medical College, the hospital and the girl’s family had talked for several days before deciding to go forward with the chemotherapy.
The case sparked renewed debate over abortion in the Dominican Republic, with some lawmakers calling on officials to reconsider the abortion ban.
According to Article 37 of the Dominican Constitution, “the right to life is inviolable from the moment of conception and until death.” Dominican courts have interpreted this as a strict mandate against abortion. Article 37, passed in 2009, also abolished the death penalty.
July 28, 2012
Dominican Republic abortion ban stops treatment for pregnant teen with cancer
Posted by verena buschmann under Catholic Church, maternal health/mortality, Medicine | Tags: abortion ban, Dominican Republic, life-saving treatment |Leave a Comment
- A 16-year-old girl with leukemia hasn’t received treatment because she’s pregnant
- Article 37 of the Dominican Republic’s constitution forbids abortion
- Chemotherapy for the girl’s illness will likely terminate her pregnancy
- Incident has sparked a renewed debate on abortion laws in the country
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic (CNN) — In the Dominican Republic, a ban on abortion is preventing a teenage girl from receiving treatment for a life-threatening disease.
At the Semma Hospital in the captial city of Santo Domingo, a 16-year-old girl is dying of acute leukemia. Doctors say the girl, whose name is being withheld to protect her privacy, needs an aggressive chemotherapy treatment. But there’s one problem: the teenager is nine weeks pregnant and treatment would very likely terminate the pregnancy, a violation of Dominican anti-abortion laws.
Rosa Hernandez, the girl’s mother, is trying to convince doctors and the Dominican government to make an exception so that her daughter’s life can be saved. “My daughter’s life is first. I know that [abortion] is a sin and that it goes against the law … but my daughter’s health is first,” Hernandez said.
According to Article 37 of the Dominican constitution, “the right to life is inviolable from the moment of conception and until death.” Dominican courts have interpreted this as a strict mandate against abortion. Article 37, passed in 2009, also abolished the death penalty.
Turkish women rally against plans to restrict access to abortion
Miguel Montalvo, the director of the bioethics council that rules on the application of the law, says the council is leaning toward allowing the treatment. “At the end of the day the patient may decide for himself or herself. In this case, the family may decide what’s more convenient for the patient,” Montalvo said.
Women’s and human rights groups are outraged, saying the girl should have received chemotherapy immediately.
Lilliam Fondeur, a women’s rights activist, complains that conservative politics is preventing necessary treatment to save the teenager’s life.
“How can it be possible that so much time is being wasted? That the treatment hasn’t begun yet because they’re still meeting, trying to decide if she has the right to receive the treatment to save her life — that’s unacceptable,” Fondeur said.
Some Dominican opposition lawmakers say there should be a new debate over the abortion ban in the Caribbean country and the problems created by the constitutional ban go beyond this case. Opinion leaders like former representative Victor Terrero say clandestine abortions are also putting the lives of many women at risk.
“The constitution is going to have to be modified sooner rather than later,” Terrero said. “We cannot allow under any circumstances that pregnancies that present complications for women be permitted to continue as normal.”
Bautista Rojas Gomez, the Dominican minister of health, has publicly indicated he favors chemotherapy over protecting the pregnancy, but doctors are still reluctant to act for fear of prosecution.
Pelegrin Castillo, one of the architects of Article 37, says the constitutional ban does not prevent doctors from administering the treatment. It does, however, prevent them from practicing an abortion in order to treat the patient with chemotherapy.
“It’s an artificial debate,” Castillo said. “What we have clearly said is that in this case doctors are authorized by the constitution to treat the patient. They don’t have to worry about anything. They have the mandate of protecting both lives.”
And while the debate rages on around the country, back at the hospital the clock keeps ticking for the 16-year-old pregnant girl.