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Abortion row shakes Brazil opinion

April 2, 2009
Gary Duffy, BBC News

The issue of abortion in Brazil has been making headlines not just in South America's biggest country, but around the world.The controversy began when news emerged from Pernambuco, a poor state in the north-east of Brazil, that a nine-year-old girl who had been raped was pregnant with twins. 

It is alleged that she had been sexually abused for years by her stepfather, who is also suspected of sexually assaulting an older disabled sister. He is now in prison. Public interest in the case soared when the local Catholic archbishop tried to block the girl from having an abortion.

• Read the complete article.

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