Judgment, 26 April 1988.
The Court granted the petition sought by the Juvenile Defender of the Argentina Ministry of Minors to prevent a mentally retarded minor who had been the victim of rape and who was four months into her pregnancy from having an abortion.  The Defender sought to prevent the abortion because he believed 1) that the fetus had a right to life and 2) that the performance of the abortion would pose a significant health risk to the mother.  Although the mother of the minor had consented under provisions of the Penal Code allowing a pregnancy occurring under such circumstances to be terminated if the legal representative of the mentally retarded woman consents, the Court ruled that there was no consent.  It concluded that the mother was not the legal representative of the minor because the minor did not live with her parents and had not been legally declared mentally incompetent.  The Court also stated that, in cases where a pregnant woman with parental authority petitions to have an abortion, the law mandates that the fetus be represented legally and that the court must consult the Ministry of Minors before it authorizes an abortion. It based its decision on the legal right of a fetus to life.
D000023:Abortion Applicants; D000028:Abortion, Induced; D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D000569:Americas; D001118:Argentina; D003415:Crime; D003710:Demography; D003906:Developing Countries; D006233:Persons with Disabilities; D005193:Family Planning Services; D007603:Jurisprudence; D007843:Latin America; D011153:Population; D011154:Population Characteristics; D011902:Rape; D012940:Social Problems; D013020:South America; D020458:Third-Party Consent
Abortion Seekers; Abortion Seekers, Refused; Abortion, Induced--legal aspects; Adolescents; Adolescents, Female; Age Factors; Americas; Argentina; Court Decision; Crime; Demographic Factors; Developing Countries; Family Planning; Fertility Control, Postconception; Handicapped; Latin America; Parental Consent; Population; Population Characteristics; Rape--legal aspects; Social Problems; South America; Youth