LA PAZ (AFP) - The office of Bolivia's human rights ombudsman said on Thursday (Oct 28) it would help an 11-year-old rape victim obtain an abortion it said had been hindered by the Catholic Church - if she wants one.

The girl, who is 21 weeks pregnant, had been raped by her step-grandfather, but has been prevented by the Church, medical staff and local authorities from terminating the pregnancy, which she initially said she wanted to do, the office said in a statement.

It said it would "relaunch the procedure for legal termination of pregnancy" without interference from "her family, any body, group or religious sector".

The Catholic Church said this week it had moved the girl to a shelter and defended its anti-abortion stance.

"The human within the womb is not to blame for the abuse of its mother. One crime is not solved by another crime," the office of the archbishop of Santa Cruz said in a statement.

The United Nations office in Bolivia has referred authorities to international guidelines for the protection of girls "that must be applied in a comprehensive and timely manner".

The girl's pregnancy put at risk "not only her life, her health and her life plan, but also her mental and emotional health", it said.

The girl's alleged rapist is awaiting trial.

A 2014 constitutional court ruling in Bolivia allows abortion in cases of rape, incest or risky pregnancy.

In staunchly conservative and Catholic Latin America, abortion is legal only in Uruguay, Cuba, Argentina and Guyana, as well as Mexico City and four of Mexico's 32 states.

It is banned in El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic and Haiti, and most other Latin American countries allow it only for medical reasons or in case of rape.