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Dublin: 9 °C Thursday 20 June, 2013

Ten-year-old girl ‘raped by her stepfather’ gives birth in Mexico

The story has reopened a heated debate about abortion in the country.

File photo
File photo
Image: LM OTERO/AP/Press Association Images

A 10-YEAR-OLD girl has reportedly given birth to a baby boy after a 31-week pregnancy in Mexico.

BNO News reports that the girl, who is nearly 11, gave birth by Caesarean section yesterday after arriving at a hospital in the city of Puebla where she had previously been to seek help for problems associated with the pregnancy.

The baby boy weighed 3 pounds and 3 ounces and is said to be recovering from pneumonia at the hospital’s intensive care unit. The mother has returned home to recover from the Caesarean but is visiting daily to breastfeed the child.

The story has become a lightening rod in Mexico’s heated debate about abortion according to CNN after it was reported that the 10-year-old’s pregnancy was a result of her being raped by her stepfather who has been arrested.

Abortion is legal in Mexico’s capital city but illegal or severely restricted in most of the other states across the vast nation.

In the 10-year-old girl’s home state of Quintana Roo, abortion is allowed in cases of rape during the first 90 days but the girl was nearly a month past that limit when she sought assistance.

The girl is said to be in the custody of protective services in the state and is being monitored both physically and psychologically.

According to the New York Daily News it is not the first time a young girl has given birth in Mexico.

In August 2010, an 11 -year-old girl had a child two weeks premature after she was raped repeatedly by her father. Local laws permitted her from having an abortion as she was four months pregnant by the time she sought help.

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Comments (20 Comments)

  • Andy 11/11/11 #

    Castration would be too kind.

    Reply
  • Jesus! Shes only a baby herself. The trauma of rape, pregnancy and child birth and ten years old. Its hard to imagine. Poor little angel.

    Reply
  • It’s these kind of stories that would make you lose faith both religiously and in humanity itself. Here’s hoping he dies roaring.

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  • Agreed! I’m not pro abortion but pregnancy and childbirth being forced upon a 10 year old? If I ever heard of very special circumstances. Very sad story. Two words for the stepfather: jailhouse justice!

    Reply
  • This is such a terribly sad story,the girl being a child herself.The evil evil sick minded” thing” that committed an awful crime against this poor child should be hung.God love her

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  • The poor girl, what will happen to her now? So sorry for her.

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  • This makes me feel so sick.. I hope that if the stepfather has a conscience – it creates his own personal hell for the rest of his life..

    If he has no conscience, then let him pay the physical price as it will be all he will feel..

    To the girl and her child, may they be looked after in the best possible way, in every way. I hope that they can both go on to lead happy and peaceful lives (as far away from that stepfather as possible).

    Reply
  • I am reading the comments here and I would like to say I don’t know if I believe in evil. To me it lets people off the hook for horrible crimes. Their minds needs to be examined to find out what causes them to do this. Maybe in future it is a personality defect that can be prevented or rehabilitated. It may reduce these levels of these type of crimes.
    On another note for the poor young girl and baby I only wish her the best care and healing. I hope she gets the resources that she needs to recover. The sooner the church step out of these cases the better.

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  • Seems to me that there are two children suffering here, the one who is raped, and the one who is the product of that rape. First things first I wouldn’t waste time on the rapist, throw him in with the general population and he’d last about as long as a snowball in a heatwave in July. Nuff said on that. The poor child who was raped, she may not be physically or emotionally capable of delivering a baby so abortion, whether we agree or not, has to be an option here. She was raped at 10 years old, even if she were to deliver the baby, what then, can a 10 year old child really be expected to raise a child? Remember we’re talking about a very different culture, one where being raped in the first place puts a child at odds with the church and her community. She IS innocent, if she was allowed to have an abortion under circumstances where she is looked after, she is a victim of rape, sometimes incest. Yes, the product of that rape didn’t ask to be created but we cannot ask a 10 year old child to deliver and raise a baby, she should be playing with dolls.

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  • Lamb 11/11/11 #

    What a horrific story. It’s really disturbing what this monster did. It’s proven that these people can’t be rehabilitated, even castration doesn’t work. The white matter in their brains is wired wrong. The only thing you can do is put them on a boat and sink it in shark infested waters.

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  • It’s not abortion that should be the topic it’s not the babies fault that poor little girl.public flogging and acid comes to mind first

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    • @Dee

      The last time this happened in Brazil, the fetus was aborted…
      …and the Catholic Church excommunicated the girl, her mother and the medical team who performed the operation.

      And *that* is why the debate needs to be on abortion as well as preventing child abuse. Because it’s not enough to punish the rapist, you have to care for the victim as well.

      Reply
    • Absolutely spot on, Mark

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    • Oh jesus lads not getting my point This is in the news because this area of mexico doesnt allow abortion not because a god damn sick evil man caused this. I never isinuated that the girl shouldnt of had the option of abortion ( but that in itself could of caused detrimental damge in a girl so young) it was the fact that there was no news on the actual pinishment of the rapist. As stated its not abortion that should be the topic please read carefully

      Reply
  • Which begs the following questions can the state reasonably expect to protect the welfare of children when it allows the legal age of consent to be 12 and yet insist that they not be allowed to have abortions? Once again we have to ask if the country’s allegiance to Catholicism is best serving the real needs of children and young women who are now being forced to role play the church’s wish for religious adherence. Such are the contradictions of ten year old girls suddenly becoming mothers with little recourse to their sanctity.

    http://scallywagandvagabond.com/2011/11/10-year-old-girl-gives-birth-but-questions-remain-if-she-was-raped/

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  • It us not abortion that this should be about it should be about what support the this little girl and her baby are going to get God love her a long life with support will be hard enough but a horrendous life IF THERE IS NO SUPPORT
    And as for the STEPFATHER HE SHOULD BE CASTRATED AND LOCKED UP IN DARKNESS FED ON BREAD AND WATER FOR THE REST OF HIS NATURAL LIFE
    AND THE MEXICAN GOVERNMENT SHOULD BE LOOKING AT SOME WAY TO GIVE THIS LITTLE GIRL ALL THE HELP WITH HER BABY EDUCATION HEALTH SOCIAL SKILLS ………..

    Reply
  • All of this is NOT a church question. The church knows nothing about this. The girls/women affected should have a right to abort if they wish and for the monsters that commit these crimes – cut it off and let them bleed to death!

    Reply

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