Abortion Ban Blocks Chemo for Cancer Teen

An abortion ban in the Dominican Republic is blocking chemotherapy treatment for a pregnant teenager with leukemia. The 16-year-old girl, who's nine weeks pregnant, needs aggressive chemotherapy to fight acute leukemia. But the treatment would likely end the pregnancy, so it's being withheld. The girl's mom is pleading with doctors to treat her child. "My daughter's life is first. I know abortion is a sin and that it goes against the law, but my daughter's health is first," Rose Hernandez told CNN.

Doctors and administrators at the Semma Hospital in Santo Domingo, where the girl is a patient, are believed to be considering starting treatment, but may fear being prosecuted under the strict abortion ban, say observers. (More Domincan Republic stories.)