Pregnancy of 10-year-old rape victim in Salta fuels debate

News of a 10-year-old girl in Salta province who was raped by her stepfather and is now pregnant sparked national debate this week, putting the issues of child pregnancy and abortion firmly in the spotlight.

The child, from the conservative northwestern province of Salta, was found to be 21 weeks pregnant when she was taken to hospital by her mother with reported stomach pains. When doctors confirmed her pregnancy, the girl confessed she had been raped by her stepfather.

The case quickly made national headlines, especially with debate over the decriminalisation of abortion currently ongoing in Congress. At a press conference this week, lawmakers confirmed they had pencilled a date of June 13 for the high-profile vote on the bill in the Lower House.

Current legislation in Argentina allows terminations in the event of rape or danger to the mother’s health. In Salta province, however, abortion in case of rape is permitted only during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy.

According to some reports, the girl has expressed a desire to continue her pregnancy.

Others, however, have expressed doubts over the official version of events, arguing the child and the family seem to have been misled by provincial authorities.

According to Salta province officials, the girl and her mother declined an abortion in a letter

“The Youth and Disabilities advisor Patricia Gómez de González advised the Executive branch of the desire of the girl and her mother… to continue the pregnancy,” the Santa provincial government said.

But feminist activist Mariana Carvajal has expressed doubts about that version of events.

“The family is terrified. They told the mother than an abortion was very risky. What we don’t know, is what the girl thinks. An abortion is still possible,” Carvajal, one of the founders of the feminist Ni Una Menos movement against gender-based violence, told AFP.

Carvajal added the child was first hospitalised in February, during the first 12 weeks of her pregnancy, but was diagnosed with constipation. It was only during the second visit that she revealed she was regularly raped by her mother’s partner.

The girl was violated by her stepfather and now “the State is now violating her rights,” she charged.

T here a re 2,70 0 bi r t h s to “g i rl mothers” between 10 and 14 years old each year in Argentina, according to UNICEF data, which equates to 3.6 percent of all births in the country.

Congress has been holding open debates with hundreds of speakers twice weekly for one month. Speakers have been arguing for or against a proposed bill that would decriminalise abortion. Several mass protests have rallied millions of Argentines for or against the proposal.

The elective interruption of a pregnan- cy is illegal in Argentina except in cases of rape or when a woman’s life is at risk.

In the case of the girl from Salta, the State must provide medical assistance for the interruption of her pregnancy because she has been raped. However, given the advanced stage of gestation and the expressed desire of the girl and her mother to keep the pregnancy, an abortion now cannot take place.

A 2012 provincial protocol in Salta determined that a woman could seek an abortion until the 12th week of a gestation and with psychological assistance.

“Generally rapes take place within a family unit. Girls don’t speak out because they are fearful and until around 12 weeks a pregnancy is barely noticeable. The timeframe [set out in the protocol] is unviable, it is a restriction,” Laura Postiglione, the head of the Violence Against Women Observatory, said in an interview with El Tribuno de Salta.

She also objected to the idea that a victim be “supervised” by a team of psychologists.

Salta province has a population of 1.3 million people whose way of life is closely linked to traditional Catholicism. The amount and variety of churches and parishes in this small territory distinguishes it in Argentina’s popular culture as “the most Catholic” of the provinces.

Catholic religion was obligatorily taught in provincial public schools until a 2017 Supreme Court decision that declared this practice discriminatory and unconstitutional.

The case of the 10-year-old pregnant girl gained national attention. Salta Governor, Juan Manuel Urtubey, a presidential hopeful for 2019, announced Thursday that the province would study the case. For now, the “girl and her mother will be informed and listened to”.

“There are no more obstacles for her to abort”, the province’s Gender Politics spokeswoman Rosaura Gareca said.