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10-Year- Old Rape Victim Gives Birth in India  

New Delhi (August 18, 2017): A ten-year old rape victim who was denied an abortion has given birth in northern India.

The 10-year old delivered a baby girl via Caesarian section at the Government Medical College and Hospital in Chandigarh.

Both the girl and her baby are in stable condition, according to Dasari Harish, one of the doctors caring for the girl. The girl was forced to have the baby after India’s Supreme Court rejected the family’s plea for an abortion three weeks ago, based on the opinions of eight doctors and an examination of the girl.

Her doctor said that she was 35 weeks pregnant but she did not know about her pregnancy. Her parents told her that she needed surgery for a kidney stone problem, and refused to allow medical professionals to tell their child the truth, according to Harish.

Under India’s Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, the country doesn’t allow abortion after more than 20 weeks of pregnancy, unless they receive permission from the courts.

The family, did not approach the authorities about the girl’s pregnancy until the 26th or 27th week, said Alakh Alok Srivastava, a lawyer who represented the girl’s family.

“[The] first verdict the Supreme Court made was that the pregnancy cannot be terminated at this stage based on the opinions of the medical board,” Srivastava said.

As is the case with the vast majority of reported rapes in India, the rapist was known to the victim. In this particular case, it was the girl’s uncle, who had allegedly raped her over a period of six to seven months. A case against the man is pending.

India continues to grapple with the issue of sexual assault following the 2012 Nirbhaya gang rape case — a particularly brutal incident that resulted in protests and a renewed debate around the status of women in the nation.

Despite attempts by the government to increase penalties for sexual assault, the number of reported rapes rose by 50% between 2011 and 2016.

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