The biggest news in the atheist blogger world in the last week has been the excommunication of a mother and her doctor for terminating a rape induced pregnancy in her nine year old daughter; a case the most certainly would have killed the nine year old if allowed to come to term.
Now, Brazilian President President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva says he regrets the Archbishop’s Sobrinho’s decision.
In this case, the medical profession was more right than the Church
Firstly, you can’t apologize for someone else. If it doesn’t come from them, it doesn’t mean anything. I’m glad he’s speaking out. It shows Brazil in a better light, but still does nothing for the archbishop.
Secondly, I actually don’t have a problem with the church kicking her and everyone involved (except the rapist dad) out of the church. The fancy word “excommunication” really sounds big, but it’s just a bunch of kids kicking you out of their club house. It is their rules, they do have the right to kick you out if you don’t follow them. In this case, aborting a fetus in a 9 year old girl is more than the club house can deal with; and, since they did not speak out against the rape itself, we can only assume that it was ok. As for the step father:
He is also suspected of abusing the girl’s physically handicapped older sister who is now 14.
As far as I’m concerned, she’s been rescued from a cult. She should be thankful that she’s been kicked out. Now she can begin living her life free of religion and unreasonable dogma. This archbisop, at least, is an ammoral and unfeeling bastard.
Universal Heretic 