# Helped a 9 y.o. get an abortion? That's an excommunication (RO) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 5, 2009, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helped-a-9-y-o-get-an-abortion-thats-an-excommunication-ro/488452 "2009-03-05T23:11:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cat\_Fight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/90ced4/32.png) [@Cat\_Fight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Fight)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2009, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helped-a-9-y-o-get-an-abortion-thats-an-excommunication-ro/488452/1 "2009-03-05T23:11:19Z")
This may already be in the Pit by the time I press Submit, but there you go… So as you may already know by now, a 9-year-old Brazilian girl became pregnant with twins after being (‘allegedly’) raped by her father. Though abortion is illegal in Brazil, there are rare exceptions – and she was granted one. In part because carrying twins would have basically killed her (thank goodness it wasn’t just one, right?) As if the story isnt vile enough, there’s this (from the [BBC](http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7926694.stm)) > [@](#): > > Now a Church spokesman says all those involved, including the child’s mother and the doctors, are to be excommunicated. > > The Archbishop of Olinda and Recife, Jose Cardoso Sobrinho, told Brazil’s TV Globo that the law of God was above any human law. > > He said the excommunication would not apply to the child because of her age, but would affect all those who ensured the abortion was carried out. So they ‘spared’ the child (who will be taking her to church, exactly?) because of her age… but still thought she should have risked her life to bring two children to term, against the advice of doctors? I know this is hardly the first time this sort of thing has happened, but… arrghhhh! Though there’s no mention of it, I am really, _really_ curious if the father will also be excommunicated (after all, he tried to flee the region – no mention of him helping get the daughter he raped an abortion). ---
**Author:** ![appleciders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85f322/32.png) [@appleciders](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/appleciders)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2009, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helped-a-9-y-o-get-an-abortion-thats-an-excommunication-ro/488452/2 "2009-03-05T23:18:54Z")
> [@BBC](#): > > …He said the excommunication would not apply to the child because of her age… I wonder why? I thought that the Catholic Church usually considered 7 years of age to be the “age of reason”, when someone is basically responsible for their actions. The act of excommunication in this case confuses me. Even if one accepts the notion that life and humanity begin at the moment of conception, the worst charge that can be made here is murder, right? Does the Church regularly excommunicate murderers? ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2009, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helped-a-9-y-o-get-an-abortion-thats-an-excommunication-ro/488452/3 "2009-03-05T23:22:36Z")
> [@appleciders](#): > > Does the Church regularly excommunicate murderers? Only if they quit tithing… ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2009, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helped-a-9-y-o-get-an-abortion-thats-an-excommunication-ro/488452/4 "2009-03-05T23:25:58Z")
Yeah, it struck me last week on Ash Wednesday (which was my birthday, unfortunately) that all these people walking around with smudges on their foreheads, every single fucking one of them, is responsible for this (the latest in an interminably long line of similar travesties) along with the coddling of pedophile priests and the bilking of untold millions of gut-wrenchingly poor people to finance their gold-plated chicanery. But they are so righteous, because they gave up chocolate for Lent. ---
**Author:** ![Jayn\_Newell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Jayn\_Newell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jayn_Newell)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2009, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helped-a-9-y-o-get-an-abortion-thats-an-excommunication-ro/488452/5 "2009-03-05T23:40:56Z")
Every once in a while I start to think that maybe I need to go to church more often. Then a story like this comes along. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2009, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helped-a-9-y-o-get-an-abortion-thats-an-excommunication-ro/488452/6 "2009-03-05T23:42:21Z")
C’mon, as TomnDebb will be quick to tell you, these actions are not representative of good, kind Catholics as a whole, but a radical fringe, such as the Pope, all the cardinals and most of the bishops. And a lot of the preists. But regular Catholics … perish the thought! ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2009, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helped-a-9-y-o-get-an-abortion-thats-an-excommunication-ro/488452/7 "2009-03-05T23:57:52Z")
> [@Evil\_Captor](#): > > . But regular Catholics … perish the thought! Especially if they are from Lousiana… ---
**Author:** ![Icerigger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icerigger/32/432_2.png) [@Icerigger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icerigger)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2009, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helped-a-9-y-o-get-an-abortion-thats-an-excommunication-ro/488452/8 "2009-03-05T23:58:41Z")
I didn’t think it possible for nine year old to be pregnant.😕 ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Fight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/90ced4/32.png) [@Cat\_Fight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Fight)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2009, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helped-a-9-y-o-get-an-abortion-thats-an-excommunication-ro/488452/9 "2009-03-05T23:59:38Z")
> [@Evil\_Captor](#): > > C’mon, as TomnDebb will be quick to tell you, these actions are not representative of good, kind Catholics as a whole, but a radical fringe, such as the Pope, all the cardinals and most of the bishops. And a lot of the preists. But regular Catholics … perish the thought! I keep trying to tell people that _my_ KKK chapter adopts highways and runs soup kitchens, but they never listen! I am honestly having trouble coming up with something the Catholic Church could do that would bring it down. Holocaust denial, witch burning, keeping child rapists in business… what could they possibly do to have everyone say ‘You know what? I’m tired of tithing my minimum wage and getting knocked up every time I have sex. Unless you want to send me some art form the Vatican, I’m getting out.’? ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2009, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helped-a-9-y-o-get-an-abortion-thats-an-excommunication-ro/488452/10 "2009-03-06T00:00:44Z")
There are worse things that can happen to you than getting excommunicated from the Catholic Church. Like getting hit in the head with a Nerf™ softball. Or finding a penny on the ground. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Fight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/90ced4/32.png) [@Cat\_Fight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Fight)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2009, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helped-a-9-y-o-get-an-abortion-thats-an-excommunication-ro/488452/11 "2009-03-06T00:01:58Z")
> [@Icerigger](#): > > I didn’t think it possible for nine year old to be pregnant.😕 Girls can start menstruating as early as eight (there may be some even earlier cases), and they may be ovulating before they get their first period. FWIW, the girl in the case was being raped over the course of three years, since she was six. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2009, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helped-a-9-y-o-get-an-abortion-thats-an-excommunication-ro/488452/12 "2009-03-06T00:22:19Z")
> [@Q.E.D](#): > > There are worse things that can happen to you than getting excommunicated from the Catholic Church. Like getting hit in the head with a Nerf™ softball. Or finding a penny on the ground. I don’t know bout that…have you priced those special crackers they give out? And man are they to die for! ---
**Author:** ![Harriet\_the\_Spry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e56c9b/32.png) [@Harriet\_the\_Spry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harriet_the_Spry)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2009, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helped-a-9-y-o-get-an-abortion-thats-an-excommunication-ro/488452/13 "2009-03-06T00:23:07Z")
> [@An\_Arky](#): > > Yeah, it struck me last week on Ash Wednesday (which was my birthday, unfortunately) that all these people walking around with smudges on their foreheads, every single fucking one of them, is responsible for this (the latest in an interminably long line of similar travesties) along with the coddling of pedophile priests and the bilking of untold millions of gut-wrenchingly poor people to finance their gold-plated chicanery. But they are so righteous, because they gave up chocolate for Lent. FWIW, not everyone who observes Ash Wednesday is Catholic. If you feel all Christians is close enough, that’s a rather broad brush. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2009, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helped-a-9-y-o-get-an-abortion-thats-an-excommunication-ro/488452/14 "2009-03-06T00:29:53Z")
> [@Cat\_Fight](#): > > Girls can start menstruating as early as eight (there may be some even earlier cases), and they may be ovulating before they get their first period. > > FWIW, the girl in the case was being raped over the course of three years, since she was six. And the youngest girl ever to be pregnant was four. So does the Catholic Church also make a practice of excommunicating rapists and child abusers? ---
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2009, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helped-a-9-y-o-get-an-abortion-thats-an-excommunication-ro/488452/15 "2009-03-06T00:41:19Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > And the youngest girl ever to be pregnant was four. :eek: I thought it was [five and a half](http://snopes.com/pregnant/medina.asp)! Who was the four year old? :eek: ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2009, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helped-a-9-y-o-get-an-abortion-thats-an-excommunication-ro/488452/16 "2009-03-06T00:41:59Z")
> [@Harriet\_the\_Spry](#): > > FWIW, not everyone who observes Ash Wednesday is Catholic. If you feel all Christians is close enough, that’s a rather broad brush. Nah, I was referring only to Catholics this time, but it’s easy enough to find plenty of the same in other churches. I reckon they can take comfort in knowing they’re not alone. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2009, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helped-a-9-y-o-get-an-abortion-thats-an-excommunication-ro/488452/17 "2009-03-06T00:43:46Z")
> [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](#): > > :eek: I thought it was [five and a half](http://snopes.com/pregnant/medina.asp)! Who was the four year old? :eek: Whoops, no, I underestimated how old she was. You’re right, it was five and a half. ---
**Author:** ![Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aji_de_gallina/32/260_2.png) [@Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aji_de_Gallina)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2009, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helped-a-9-y-o-get-an-abortion-thats-an-excommunication-ro/488452/18 "2009-03-06T01:07:45Z")
The Bishops were simply following a long-standing rule. [This link has all the necessary info.](http://www.ewtn.com/expert/answers/Abortio2.htm) You may now return to your regular (and repetitively unimaginative) Catholic-bashing. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2009, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helped-a-9-y-o-get-an-abortion-thats-an-excommunication-ro/488452/19 "2009-03-06T01:13:13Z")
> [@Aji\_de\_Gallina](#): > > The Bishops were simply following a long-standing rule. > [This link has all the necessary info.](http://www.ewtn.com/expert/answers/Abortio2.htm) > > You may now return to your regular (and repetitively unimaginative) Catholic-bashing. Well, I suppose it’s nice that the Catholic Church has documentation to back up its inhumane practices, but I’m not sure why you considered this to be “necessary” information. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2009, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helped-a-9-y-o-get-an-abortion-thats-an-excommunication-ro/488452/20 "2009-03-06T01:16:01Z")
> [@Aji\_de\_Gallina](#): > > You may now return to your regular (and repetitively unimaginative) Catholic-bashing. I thought my material was pretty good 🙂 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helped-a-9-y-o-get-an-abortion-thats-an-excommunication-ro/488452.md?page=2)