So, A 9-Year-Old Gave Birth Recently

Under Mexican law, it is a crime to have sex with anyone under 15, even if they give consent. With that in mind, the idea of an 8-year-old getting pregnant and having a baby at 9 years old, would seem, well, impossible and very much illegal. But, on January 27th a young girl in Zapopan, Mexico’s western Jalisco state, gave birth in Zoquipan Hospital to a 5.9 lb baby. Based on the Daily Mail report, it took her seven months into the pregnancy for her own mother to understand what was happening. Dafne, being only 9, still doesn’t comprehend – even after the birth. She is just a child herself, so how could she?

“She is just a child.” You will say it out loud when you read this story and keep it in the back of your mind as the details unfold. How could anyone allow this to happen under their nose? What do the parents have to say? Well, that’s just it. They (along with Dafne and the baby) have fled their 7ft by 25ft breeze block home just hours before authorities showed up to question them. So, here we are. Another sickening display of possible sexual abuse in a home that should be rendered as safe to those under one roof.

What is more terrifying is that based on another story that surfaced, the 9-year-old was sterilized so she may never have children again – and this happened without the consent of her own mother. Now, some may think that’s unethical to take away the child’s right to reproduce in the future without discussing it with the family that looks after her, but Dafne is the caretaker at home. She does not attend school of any kind so that instead she may assist with the family. So, now it is obvious. Someone at the hospital suspected foul play at home and made a choice, right? Well, who knows. But their error, as authorities look into it further, was they didn’t go about the procedure properly. If children are being raped and forced to bear children, does a society of doctor’s have the right to make a call like that? The truth is no, but they could contact authorities. Which is what they did. And, perhaps we will get the real truth when the family resurfaces again.

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