In Paraguay, the 11-year-old who was raped by her stepfather and became pregnant has given birth to a healthy baby. The young girl was the focus of a debate about abortion laws in the pro-life country after her mother requested that she obtain a late-term abortion.
Thankfully, her request was denied because abortion is only permitted after 20-weeks when a woman’s life is in danger. The Health Minister of Paraguay, Dr. Antonio Barrios, said the procedure was out of the question since the family requested it in the girl’s 23rd week of pregnancy. He said, “If there needed to be an abortion, it had to be before the 20th week.”
The Guardian reports that the minor gave birth to a baby girl weighing 7.8 pounds at the Reina Sofia maternity hospital, which is a health care facility operated by the Red Cross. In Paraguay, the young girl is known by the legal pseudonym “Mainumby.” The baby was delivered via Caesarean section as planned to prevent complications. The director of Reina Sofia said, “It was like any other Caesarean, but with the age difference. She’s well and progressing like in any other surgery, but we’ll see afterwards how she gets on as a mother.”
As LifeNews previously reported, after the violent rape the girl’s mother was arrested for helping her partner, Gilberto Benitez Zarate, escape. A child protection officer from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said the following about sexual abuse in South America: “In Paraguay, every day two girls between the ages of 10 and 14 give birth. These cases are a consequence of sexual abuse, and in most situations, repeated sexual abuse from which the victims have not received timely, appropriate protection.”
The officer added, “Adolescent girls are not receiving adequate attention. This is our concern and we hope that in light of this case effective measures will be taken to protect them from intra-family violence.”
No comments:
Post a Comment