An Argentinian doctor has been sentenced to a 14 months in prison for refusing to take the life of a late-term unborn baby.
In 2017 Dr Leandro Rodriguez Lastra refused to perform an abortion on 23-week pregnant 19-year-old woman who claimed the baby was conceived in rape on the grounds that a late-term abortion would have been risky for the mother as well as fatal to her almost fully developed unborn child.
The child has since been born in good health and was adopted into a loving family.
Dr Lastra, however, was condemned by the court for “ignoring a woman’s voice” and “her vital needs” after he provided pre-natal medical care to the young woman and her unborn baby, BioEdge reported.
The 14-month prison sentence was suspended but Dr Lastra’s lawyers still sought to appeal the conviction that also includes a 28-month disqualification from holding public office, which they called an “unjust ruling” but this appeal was rejected.
Judges Miguel Angel Cardella and María Rita Custet Llambí agreed with the conviction that Dr Lastra was guilty of “breaching the duties of a public official”, ruling that Lastra “did not respect the personal autonomy of the woman,” according to the report.
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