A 12-year-old girl has given birth to twins in the South American nation Argentina after she was allegedly raped and was denied the right to legal abortion, as per reports. The twins got delivered by cesarean at the Children's Hospital Dr. Hector Quintana, which is located in the city of San Salvador located in the Argentine province of Jujuy.
The young girl, whose name was not released was allegedly forced to wait till the twin fetuses reached a particular level of maturity before the operation could take place on November 29. She has been currently placed under the care of the Children's Ombudsman because of her parent's 'legal situation', as per a statement by the Network of Health Professionals for the Right to Decide on November 30.
Rape of 12-Year-Old Girl in Argentina
The statement criticized the cesarean surgery on the 12-year-old stating that she had the right to a legal termination of pregnancy given her young age. It continues to criticize the provincial authorities for giving permission to the operation that will leave a permanent scar on the body of the victim and can potentially lead to psychological issues down the line, as per reports.
The network accused the officials of 'buying time' for ensuring the only option was to have the birth despite the fact that they have a particular protocol which is carried out with the UNICEF. The protocol gives permission to teens under the age of 15 to have access to legal abortions given the health risks involved with underage pregnancy.
It also claims that the National Direction of Sexual Health contacted the provincial authorities and also offer to immediately provide help to the girl but were met with certain delays. It is not clear what reasons the officials gave for stalling the case. There have been no other reports on the present status of the twins or the alleged rape case of the 12-year-old girl. In the Jujuy Province, there have been 685 births from adolescent mothers in this year only.
