(WOMENSENEWS)–Lucila Sanchez Monteyano, the 12-year-old Mexican girl who was impregnated by her father, was granted a legal abortion, and the state of Sinaloa has decided to establish a special office to handle rape cases, officials announced.
The abortion, at more than four and a half months, was performed and the girl was reported to be in good condition.
The decision to grant an abortion permit was announced last weekend at a news conference held by Judge Ramon Jesus Castro, joined by the girl’s mother and her doctors. Journalist Oswaldo Villasenor of the newspaper, Noroeste, in Los Mochis reported the news conference.
Judge Castro confirmed speculation that Lucila had disappeared with her mother and had received a legal abortion, approved by Sinaloa state. In Mexico, virtually all abortion is illegal. He also announced the establishment of a department to handle abortion as a result of rape cases, Villasenor reported.The girl was about 18 weeks pregnant. Although abortion carries some risk and later abortion carries more risk, the perils of childbirth for a 12-year-old are more dangerous, according to a report released by the World Health Organization. The report says that teens risk the possibility of damaging their internal organs and their bowel and urinary tracts, as well as suffering other mental and physical impairments.-By Amy Berg
To read the original Women’s Enews article:Mexican Girl, 12, Raped by Dad, Can’t Have Abortion:
In Mexico, Domestic Workers’ Story Is Rags to Rags
Unlike in real life, telenovelas are promoting a prominent role for the female domestic worker in the predominantly middle class and wealthy families that employ her, a Cinderella story of sorts. But that is just a fairy tale.

Latin American Indigenous Women Hold NYC Tribunal
To puncture official indifference, Latin American indigenous women are staging a tribunal on the sidelines of a U.N. permanent forum “to push back the invisibility” about what they suffer. “The justice system really doesn’t work for us,” says one.