Big news from Colombia: the first legal abortion after the Constitutional Court’s May 2006 decision to legalize the procedure in cases where the woman’s life is in danger, in cases of fetal malformation, or in cases where the woman has been raped, took place at Simon Bolivar hospital in Bogotá last Thursday. Admittedly, I use the term “woman” loosely, since the case in fact involved an 11-year-old girl who was raped by her stepfather (or, according to Catholic World News, who was “reportedly” raped by her stepfather). Despite the new law, the case had to go all the way back up to the Constitutional Court before the abortion was permitted, since initially the doctors refused to perform the procedure as a matter of conscience. Nice consciences, guys.

The pregnancy—which made national headlines in Colombia—was apparently the culmination of four years of sexual abuse on the part of the girl’s stepfather, which means it started when she was seven years old. In spite of this scenario, the abortion was condemned by Colombia’s Catholic hierarchy, and protesters thronged to the hospital in opposition. According to Latin America’s Catholic Information Agency, the Colombian Episcopal Conference was also quick to act, lauding the doctors for their brave refusal to perform the abortion, chastising the media for their “kneejerk” support of abortion as “the only solution” to the case, and likening the abortion to “another rape.” In their words (translation mine), “Nothing justifies, under any circumstances, the excessive eagerness of some members of the media and some authorities to portray abortion as the only possible solution to a case like this. They have ignored many more humane possibilities that would be more compatible with the condition of a minor.” Oh, really? And what possibilities would those be? Experiencing the joys of pregnancy and labor before your twelfth birthday? Giving birth to your stepfather’s child? Or, the tried and true throwing yourself down the stairs?

The Colombian case, sadly, is far from unique. An eight-months-pregnant 13-year-old girl (raped by her neighbor) is currently making headlines in Nicaragua because she’ll probably need to have a caesarean in order to give birth safely (her body hasn’t yet developed sufficiently to handle a vaginal delivery). In 2003, a 13-year-old Nicaraguan girl named Rosa who was raped in Costa Rica made international headlines when the state and the Catholic hierarchy here joined forces to attempt to deny her a therapeutic abortion (she was eventually allowed to have the abortion). And here’s a case that didn’t make as many headlines: shortly after Rosa was granted an abortion in Nicaragua, a 13-year-old girl in El Salvador also became pregnant as a result of rape. Unlike Rosa, she was forced to carry the pregnancy to term. A few months later, she killed herself.

Just to make sure we’re clear, I’m not sharing these stories to highlight how barbaric Latin America is. Lest we forget, the proposed anti-abortion law in South Dakota doesn’t include an exception for rape either. And if you want barbarism, look no further than SD Congressman Bill Napoli’s March fantasy—oops, I meant comments—about the kind of scenario that might justify a legal abortion for a rape survivor. As one in three women in the world can tell you, rape and sexual abuse know no borders. But at least in Colombia, inhumane laws do.