Rape victim, 11, gives birth in Paraguay

It emerged she was pregnant when she was taken to the doctor over stomach pains earlier this year.

The pre-teen's 42-year-old stepfather Gilberto Benitez Zárate had allegedly raped the child.

Doctors found that she was five months pregnant at the time. 

Zárate is facing charges of child abuse and rape. Her 32-year-old mother is being charged with child neglect and complicity.

Predominantly Catholic, Paraguayan authorities had reportedly refused to let her have an abortion. 

The country's Health Minister Antonio Barrios was quoted as saying that abortion is a violation of law, even given the circumstances.

The authorities' handling of the case sparked outrage in this predominantly Catholic country, where abortion is illegal except when the mother's life is deemed to be at risk.

The child who weighed 34 kilograms at the time gave birth via C-section and is under observation in hospital in Asunción. The baby weighs in at three kilograms.  

(File photo: Gallo Images)