NEW DELHI: A 10-year-old assault victim whose plea for an abortion was rejected by India’s Supreme Court has given birth to a baby girl, a doctor said on Thursday.

The girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was assaulted several times allegedly by an uncle who has since been arrested.

Last month her parents asked the country’s top court to allow her to have a late-term abortion but the request was turned down.

Indian law does not allow medical terminations after 20 weeks unless there is a threat to either the life of the mother or her child.

“She gave birth through C-section today (Thursday). Both the girl and her baby are doing fine,” doctor Dasari Harish said from the northern Indian city of Chandigarh.

“The surgery was uneventful. There were no complications whatsoever. The baby weighed 2.2 kilos (4.8 pounds) and is in the neonatal ICU for now.”

The Press Trust of India news agency said the girl was unaware that she had delivered a child and the parents had decided to put the baby up for adoption.

Her parents have told her that she had a stone in her stomach and had undergone surgery to remove it, PTI said.

Published in Dawn, August 18th, 2017

Opinion

Editorial

ICJ rebuke
Updated 26 May, 2024

ICJ rebuke

The reason for Israel’s criminal behaviour is that it is protected by its powerful Western friends.
Hot spells
26 May, 2024

Hot spells

WITH Pakistan already dealing with a heatwave that has affected 26 districts since May 21, word from the climate...
Defiant stance
26 May, 2024

Defiant stance

AT a time when the country is in talks with the IMF for a medium-term loan crucial to bolstering the fragile ...
More pledges
Updated 25 May, 2024

More pledges

There needs to be continuity in economic policies, while development must be focused on bringing prosperity to the masses.
Pemra overreach
25 May, 2024

Pemra overreach

IT seems, at best, a misguided measure and, at worst, an attempt to abuse regulatory power to silence the media. A...
Enduring threat
25 May, 2024

Enduring threat

THE death this week of journalist Nasrullah Gadani, who succumbed to injuries after being attacked by gunmen, is yet...