An 11-year-old girl, who was allegedly raped by her stepfather but was denied an abortion, gave birth on Thursday in Asuncion, Paraguay. The baby girl is healthy and was delivered via C-section.
Asuncion Red Cross Director Mario Villalba told CNN that both mother and baby are in “good health condition.” They should be released from the hospital within three days if there are no further complications. The baby weighed around 6.6 pounds.
Elizabeth Torales, a lawyer representing the 11-year-old’s mother, told The Associated Press that the baby does not have a name yet. The 11-year-old’s mother and her grandmother are asking for custody of the baby.
Police have said that the girl was raped by her stepfather when she was 10. The story attracted attention in Paraguay in May, when the girl was already 22 weeks pregnant. Authorities then arrested her mother, 32, and charged her with child neglect and complicity. They later arrested the stepfather, identified as Gilberto Benitez Zarate, 42.
The mother did request an abortion, but the government refused to allow it. The move caused an international uproar from human rights groups but the government has banned abortions if the mother’s life is in danger.
“We are very pleased to hear that both ‘Mainumby’ and the newborn are in good health but she is lucky to be alive. Only time will tell the true extent of the physical and psychological consequences of her tragic ordeal,” Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas Director at Amnesty International, said in a statement. “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 and despite the fact that she was a rape-victim and a child.”