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Friday, September 11, 2015

Paraguay's Schoolgirl Mothers

 
Earlier this year, a 10-year-old girl in Paraguay made headlines when she arrived at a hospital 20 weeks pregnant

Ten-year-old Mainumby became front-page news in April.

She first complained of stomach ache in January.

Her mother took her to various clinics, but the pain continued.

Three months later, a hospital doctor had the presence of mind to give the child a scan, and she was found to be 20 weeks pregnant.

The alleged abuser, Mainumby's stepfather, was taken into custody while the courts await the results of a DNA test that will prove paternity. Media interest in the case ratcheted up when her mother was arrested as an accessory to the abuse, imprisoned for two months and not allowed to see her daughter.

Amnesty International campaigned for Mainumby to be allowed to have an abortion, and a group of United Nations human rights experts criticised Paraguay.

 But the authorities were unmoved.

 But this was not a one-off case. Last year, more than 700 girls aged 14 and younger gave birth in this South American nation of seven million people
 

According to Paraguay's Ministry of Health, 704 girls aged 14 and younger gave birth last year - about two each day. But the real figure could be higher

In England and Wales, with a population of 57 million, eight times greater than Paraguay's, there were 1,378 conceptions by girls aged 14 and younger in 2013. Abortion is legal in the UK, so the majority of these pregnancies ended in termination. In Paraguay however, abortion is only allowed if a mother's life is deemed to be in danger. 

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