Child Mothers
"The Paraguayan state must fulfil its role of protecting children by providing a home and a dignified life [for this family]."
Norma Benitez, spokeswoman, Latin American Women's Commission
"I was the one who reported all of this, asking for justice to be done and hoping that something would be done, but prosecutors dismissed the case."
"Otherwise, this would have never gotten to this point."
Mother of 11-year-old rape victim
"The physical and psychological impact of forcing this young girl to continue with an unwanted pregnancy is tantamount to torture. The Paraguayan authorities cannot sit idly by [refusing an abortion] while this young rape survivor is forced to endure more agony and torment."
Guadalupe Marengo, deputy director for the Americas, Amnesty International
Raped by her step-father at age ten, the little girl at age eleven gave birth to a healthy baby girl. She was forced to undergo the pregnancy resulting from having been raped because Paraguayan authorities refused pleas to allow the child to have the pregnancy terminated. The mother, who was charged with negligence in this case, begged to have her little girl allowed an abortion.
Paraguay, a seriously Catholic country, bans abortion other than in the case of a mother's life deemed to be in danger. The unnamed girl was five months into the pregnancy when local health officials declared her to be in fine health. Well over 600 girls 14 or under annually become pregnant in Paraguay according to local health statistics. And most of them have been the victim of a rape.
So much for religious conservatism and the sanctity of the childhood years.
The baby, born by cesarean section, weighed about 6.6 pounds. Asuncion red Cross Director Mario Villalba informed the public that the baby and her mother "are in good health condition", that doctors continue to monitor them, and they are expected to be released from hospital, if no complications pose a problem, within three days' time.
The girl's stepfather was arrested and charged and is currently awaiting trial. The public, aghast and alarmed over an eleven-year-old being raped and forced to undergo pregnancy and birth is calling for better protection for children from this atrocious abuse.
At age eleven, a mother, the girl and her grandmother have declared their intention to keep the baby and raise her.
Labels: Child Abuse, Child Welfare, Sexual Predation, South America
posted by Pieface @ Saturday, August 15, 2015
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