Ethics committee forbids abortion

The ethics committee of a hospital in the northern Romanian city of Iasi has refused to allow an 11-year-old girl to have an abortion on the grounds that she is already 16 weeks pregnant. The newspaper Gandul comments: "But the penal code contains Article 45 which allows abortion in cases where it is considered necessary. Any lawyer could prove that it is necessary to protect the health of the mother, particularly when you take this to mean her mental and physical health. ... But to know this the parents of the girl would have had to consult certain experts, for instance the child protection authority. This authority woke up from its slumber yesterday and explained it would bring a case against the ethics committee in Iasi. But by the time a decision is reached so much time will have passed. ... In such a case the ethics committee in Iasi should allow parents the right to decide what burden they are willing to carry."

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