Rio de Janeiro  - A nine-year-old Brazilian girl, who was raped by her stepfather and conceived twins, had an abortion Wednesday, doctors said.

Sergio Cabral of the University of Pernambuco's Amaury de Medeiros Integrated Health Centre said the procedure was successful and the girl was recovering quickly.

Abortion is illegal in Brazil, but the law admits exceptions, allowing it in cases of rape and pregnancies that put the mother's life at risk. Cabral said the abortion was carried out with the consent of the girl and her mother.

"We understand that the girl fits both cases," he said. According to the doctors, the pregnancy, in its 15th week, would have put the girl's life at risk. She was only 1.33 metres tall and weighed 36 kilograms.

Doctors withstood pressure from the Roman Catholic church, which tried to prevent the abortion. Marcio Miranda, lawyer of the Archdiocese of Olinda and Recife in northeastern Brazil, threatened to sue the girl's mother.

"We regard this as murder. It is God's law - thou shalt not kill," he said.

The stepfather, 23, confessed to the rape and was arrested in Recife, the capital of the state of Pernambuco. According to police, the girl had been sexually abused since she was 6.

Her pregnancy first came to light after she complained of dizziness and said she often felt sick, Brazilian news agency Folha Online reported. The subsequent medical examination revealed last week that she was pregnant with twins. dpa