Nevertheless the girl went on to deliver her child.
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An allegedly raped 11-year-old girl gave birth to a daughter in Paraguay, reported the Associated Press August 13. The girl gave birth to a baby girl via cesarean at a Red Cross hospital in Paraguay’s capital of Asuncion.
The girl has named the baby Milagros, which is Spanish for miracles.
Public Health Ministry officials told the Guardian at the time that there was “no reason to interrupt the pregnancy”, and argued that it would be “even more unsafe for the girl to undergo a procedure”.
The authorities’ handling of the case sparked outrage in the predominantly Catholic country, where abortion is illegal except when the mother’s life is deemed to be at risk. In the case of the 11-year-old, doctors ruled that, in spite of her age, the pregnancy did not endanger her life. She stands just 1.39 meters (four feet six inches) tall and weighed just 34 kilos (75 pounds) before her pregnancy. Torales said that doctors told her there were no complications and both the mother and baby were resting. The watchdog group also questioned the mother being punished, and said she had reported sexual abuses in 2014.
The girl’s 42-year-old stepfather, Gilberto Benitez Zarate, was arrested in May and is awaiting trial on rape charges. The young girl bore her child Thursday and shone a brighter spotlight on child rape in the South American nation.
She added to the AP that the girl’s mother and grandmother have requested custody of the infant.
“She was always at his mercy because the mother worked”.
The mother requested an abortion for her daughter, but the government blocked it, drawing criticism from many groups, including UN human rights officials.
She called on the Paraguayan government to provide “an abortion law that puts women and girls first”, as well as “comprehensive and scientific sexual information and education” for minors.
Following the birth, Amnesty worldwide released a statement, expressing relief that the mother and the child are healthy, but slamming the government.
“The fact that Mainumby did not die does not excuse the human rights violations she suffered at the hands of the Paraguayan authorities, who decided to gamble with her health, life and integrity despite overwhelming evidence that this pregnancy was extremely risky”, she said.
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The case caused an uproar in this traditionally Catholic country and overseas because authorities had refused to let the girl have an abortion.
