CEDAW/C/50/D/22/2009
request for a therapeutic abortion, the medical board of the hospital denied the request
because it considered that the life of the patient was not in danger.
2.7
The Deputy Defender requested a medical report from the High-Level Commission
on Reproductive Health of the Medical College of Peru. After giving a description of the
injuries that the girl had sustained, the Commission, in a report dated 7 May 2007,
indicated, inter alia, that due to L.C.’s age and neurological lesion a risk of complications
during the delivery was to be expected. It concluded: “There are sufficient reasons to state
that, if the pregnancy continues, there is grave risk to the girl’s physical and mental health;
a therapeutic abortion, if requested by the subject, would therefore be justified”.
2.8
On 7 June 2007, when L.C. was 16 weeks pregnant, the author submitted an appeal
for a reconsideration of its opinion regarding the termination of the pregnancy to the
hospital medical board, attaching the report of the Medical College and stressing the serious
and immediate risk to both the physical and mental health of the minor, the sole
requirements established under the Penal Code to allow the legal termination of pregnancy.
2.9
On 16 June 2007, L.C. miscarried spontaneously. On 27 June 2007, the Director of
the hospital responded to the request for reconsideration of the decision not to terminate the
pregnancy submitted by the author, stating that “it was not subject to appeal since those
were decisions taken by the various specialists who had evaluated the minor”.
2.10 On 11 July 2007, L.C. had surgery for her spinal injuries, almost three and one half
months after it had been decided that an operation was necessary. On 31 July 2007 she was
discharged from the hospital. The relevant medical report noted that L.C. required intensive
physical therapy and rehabilitation at the National Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Institute. However, that therapy did not start until 10 December 2007. Four months had
passed between the operation and the commencement of the physical rehabilitation and
psychological or psychiatric help she required.
2.11 L.C. remained in the National Rehabilitation Institute for two months, but had to
abandon her treatment for lack of means. Currently she is paralyzed from the neck down
and has regained only partial movement in her hands. She depends on a wheelchair to get
around and on others to meet all her needs. She has a catheter which must be changed five
times a day under totally sterile conditions, which prevents her from attending school. The
author states that the family’s situation is disastrous. She cannot work because L.C. requires
constant care, and the cost of the medicines and equipment she requires places a heavy
burden on the family budget. The brothers of L.C. had to leave school in order to begin
working.
2.12 According to the author, no administrative recourse exists in the State party to
request the legal termination of a pregnancy. Nor is there a protocol for care that indicates
the procedure for requesting a legal abortion or ensuring the availability of this medical
service, resources that would be appropriate in demanding the right and guaranteeing access
to an essential medical service required only by women.
2.13 The previous Peruvian Health Code established as a requirement in order to perform
a therapeutic abortion that it must be performed by a doctor and be supported by two other
doctors. However, the General Health Act currently in force (Act No. 26842 of 9 July
1997) repealed that standard and created a legal vacuum, since it does not include any
regulations on access to the medical procedure of therapeutic abortion. Since that time, the
practice has been subject to the discretion of the officials on duty.
2.14 According to the author, there is no appropriate judicial mechanism allowing access
to the courts to request termination of a pregnancy for therapeutic reasons, nor to provide
full redress for a violation of this type. No remedy exists that operates with sufficient speed
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