10-year-old's pregnancy fuels Mexican abortion debate

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by WinniBug

So, y'all are saying that it is OK to abort the pregnancy for any reason

Fixed that for you. And that's EXACTLY what I'm saying.

[BabyPiNK_FL]

I don't think forcing a child to have sex, forcing a child to have a baby, and forcing a child to give the baby away is the best idea. I also wouldn't automatically assume that this child's baby would be a #1 candidate for adoption. I'm not going to claim to be an expert in in-Mexico adoptions, I don't know how that works, but what if the "mother" or "father" are from an "undesirable" ethnicity/cultural background? People may not be lining up to take this baby. At least not without the publicity of it being the child of a 10 year old who was raped. Then the cycle just continues. This is 100% madness on every level.

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by AOII Angel

I feel for this poor child. The fact of the matter is, in Mexico it is too late for her to get an abortion.

Darn! Nevermind then.

Originally Posted by AOII Angel

Abortion or no abortion, this child has a poor chance at a normal life. In the end, I care less about the fetus in her uterus than the welfare of the 10 year old that now is a "mother."

Sad and I hope she has a strong support system...somewhere.

[WinniBug]

Originally Posted by AOII Angel

And what you are saying is that a 10 year old being raped by her stepfather resulting in a pregnancy is a "gift from God?" Please tell me that your version of God would have some compassion for this poor girl.

I think every life is a gift from God.
If you had been conceived as the result of a rape, I would say that you would still be a gift from Him.

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by WinniBug

I think every life is a gift from God.

That ideology, along with notions of "muder," is part of what sparked the debate over when does life begin many years ago.

We obviously disagree on when life begins, especially when it is unwanted.

[AGDee]

Originally Posted by WinniBug

So, y'all are saying that it is OK to abort the pregnancy because, "welp, the pregnancy and labor are going to suck for this girl so lets just murder the baby so she doesn't have to suffer." You can't justify murder. The girl's body will heal. The baby will bless an adoptive family. The girl will heal from giving birth. But will her heart heal from murdering her baby?

The girl's body may NOT heal. The girl could die in child birth. The child is not fully developed and therefore could retain permanent damage from having a child.

For those saying that it is "common" for children to have babies at this age in other cultures, I beg to differ. The average age of menarche is 12 in the US and slightly lower in some other countries, but higher in most (as high as 17 in China). It really isn't biologically possible for it to be "common", although "more accepted" may be true.

[VandalSquirrel]

I'm not an expert on the laws of Mexico, let alone incest laws anywhere, but in many places, it does include relatives who are not blood related, specifically step relatives. Regardless this is child abuse/rape.

If this is a gift from God, I wish that there could be a replacement gift of a miscarriage that leaves this little girl's body healthy so she can receive a new gift later when in a loving and stable relationship. Yeah, I'm blashmephous, and I own it.

[rhoyaltempest]

Originally Posted by 33girl

10 year olds have been having babies in underdeveloped countries for quite a while now. Some of the first tests with the Pill (back in the 1950s) were done in areas where girls were age 19 and had 8-9-10 kids.

10 year olds might have been having babies for centuries but it still doesn't make it right. Rape, molestation, and incest have also been more common than thought of since the beginning of time but not many will argue that these things shouldn't be. A whole lot of things go on in the world that shouldn't. Just because societies come to accept horrible acts as "normal" doesn't mean that it's supposed to be. I will never be convinced that children should be pregnant or married, no matter the time period or culture. And you would think this would be "common sense" all over the world but it isn't.

[RU OX Alum]

Originally Posted by rhoyaltempest

10 year olds might have been having babies for centuries but it still doesn't make it right. Rape, molestation, and incest have also been more common than thought of since the beginning of time but not many will argue that these things shouldn't be. A whole lot of things go on in the world that shouldn't. Just because societies come to accept horrible acts as "normal" doesn't mean that it's supposed to be. I will never be convinced that children should be pregnant or married, no matter the time period or culture. And you would think this would be "common sense" all over the world but it isn't.

I agree.

[christiangirl]

@the last few pages---holy trainwreck on a stick!

Originally Posted by violetpretty

Imagine being that "baby"...grown up. Imagine how you'd feel knowing you were the product of incest. That's something that therapy can not heal. Better to not bring that life into the world.

That's really sad. There are so many horrifying circumstances that can happen before/during our lives that therapy can't heal. It is ALWAYS tragic and heartbreaking. Yet somehow, we do heal (to the best of our ability) and most learn to survive, some of us even find it in ourselves to thrive. We can spout these statements here, but I doubt any of you walk up to any one of these incredibly resilient survivors, look into his or her eyes and say "it would have been better if you hadn't been born."

Originally Posted by BabyPiNK_FL

This is 100% madness on every level.

HELL to the YEAH

I think we all agree that an abortion can't (legally) happen this late in the game, so this is all hypothetical. She could be traumatized from being "forced" (assuming she doesn't want to keep it) to carry this baby but she can be traumatized after being "forced" (assuming she wanted to keep it) to go through an abortion. She'll have emotional scars from both giving up the baby and from raising it before she's ready. Some say she could die in "childbirth." Okay well due to her small pelvis, she'd probably need a C-section and the risk of death in that is about equal to the risk of death during a second-trimester abortion. She and the baby are currently healthy, but both a second trimester abortion and a C-section can lead to infection/sepsis, internal organ damage, bleeding out, and a crap load of other things that can lead to infertility. Can you imagine either becoming infertile while birthing a product of your rape or becoming infertile after ending the life of the one child you could ever have?

I can't even say what I'd like to see happen because, let's face it, this poor girl is screwed on all sides--I agree with DP in that she needs to be in therapy until she's 100. But for nearly every argument on one side, the same applies to the other side. I'm praying she has/will have a lot of support because she's going to need it.

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by christiangirl

I think we all agree that an abortion can't (legally) happen this late in the game, so this is all hypothetical.

I didn't realize that until someone said it (I didn't read much of the article). That realization ended the abortion discussion on my end.

[violetpretty]

Originally Posted by christiangirl

That's really sad. There are so many horrifying circumstances that can happen before/during our lives that therapy can't heal. It is ALWAYS tragic and heartbreaking. Yet somehow, we do heal (to the best of our ability) and most learn to survive, some of us even find it in ourselves to thrive. We can spout these statements here, but I doubt any of you walk up to any one of these incredibly resilient survivors, look into his or her eyes and say "it would have been better if you hadn't been born."

I'm just saying that I would wish I hadn't been born if I found out I were the product of incest. Of course I wouldn't walk up to someone, look them in the eyes, and say that.

Originally Posted by WinniBug

But will her heart heal from murdering her baby?

Who says it would be wounded in the first place? I truly believe any guilt associated with abortion is because anti-choice people say people who have had (an) abortion(s) should feel guilty. I don't think she would feel the guilt if people didn't try to make her feel guilty.

[christiangirl]

Originally Posted by violetpretty

I'm just saying that I would wish I hadn't been born if I found out I were the product of incest. Of course I wouldn't walk up to someone, look them in the eyes, and say that.

That's different. You said "Imagine if you had been," which does not imply that you were talking about yourself. In any case, I'm sorry, I misunderstood you.

hijack

Those terms pro-life and pro-choice are stupid. A person being pro-life does not mean they are anti-choice anymore than someone pro-choice is anti-life. Under that guise, the terms may as well be "pro-oppression" and "pro-murder," which is how both sides have come to treat each other.

/hijack

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by christiangirl

Those terms pro-life and pro-choice are stupid. A person being pro-life does not mean they are anti-choice anymore than someone pro-choice is anti-life. Under that guise, the terms may as well be "pro-oppression" and "pro-murder," which is how both sides have come to treat each other.

That's why I said "pro-abortion."

When it comes to pregnancy, I believe that people have a right to control what's happening to their body to the best of their ability and they DON'T have to justify it to anyone as long as they are terminating the pregnancy during a legal period. That's related to when I think "life" and "gifts from God" begin and its variance based on whether it's wanted or unwanted.

[christiangirl]

Originally Posted by DrPhil

That's why I said "pro-abortion."

LOL I don't like that term either but you were, indeed, excluded from the rant, doc.