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Teen's mother says her daughter's life comes first.Imagine finding out you have leukemia ... while pregnant. Doctors say you can undergo aggressive chemotherapy, but the treatment would likely end the pregnancy. Thankfully, as things stand today, a woman in this position would have the choice to decide if she would want to move forward with the cancer treatment. Because ever since Roe v. Wade, we haven't had to worry about illegal abortion in this country.

But in the Dominican Republic, it's a whole different ballgame. There, an abortion ban is preventing a 16-year-old, who is nine weeks pregnant, from undergoing chemo, because it may result in a terminated pregnancy. And there's no question in girl's mother's mind about what she wants to happen.

Rosa Hernandez is making an appeal to doctors and the D.R. government to make an exception for her daughter. She told CNN:

My daughter's life is first. I know that [abortion] is a sin and that it goes against the law ... but my daughter's health is first.

Yet, for the time being, politicians, commentators, and doctors are going to war over this young woman's life. The good news is that the director of the bioethics council that rules on application of the abortion ban says the council is leaning toward allowing the chemo. But the clock is ticking ...

This disturbing story should serve as a warning for Americans who are supporting politicians who are persistently making moves to chip away at abortion rights. Politicians who hope to turn the clock back to 40 years ago, when abortions were across-the-board illegal and came at a major expense to women's health and well-being. This sad, disturbing debacle in the Dominican Republic is an illustrated example of why moving backward would be nothing short of incredibly harmful and dangerous.

With hope, Rosa's daughter gets the treatment she so needs and deserves and no woman there -- or here -- ever has to face a similar situation.

Does this woman's story make you re-think your views on abortion?