Bareilly teen rape victim gives birth in ambulance as nurse refuses to help

The girl, who is only 14 years old according to her school-leaving certificate, was repeatedly raped by a man in her village on the pretext of marriage. He abandoned her when she conceived.

A teenage rape survivor who lost a legal battle to terminate her pregnancy gave birth to a baby boy in an ambulance early Thursday after a nurse refused to assist her in the delivery.

The teen rape survivor was taken to the district hospital in Bareilly after the nurse at the community health centre refused to assist her in delivery. The girl delivered in the ambulance and the umbilical cord was cut by the duty nurse at the district hospital. (Chandan Kumar / HT Photo)

The 14-year-old was repeatedly raped by a man in her village on the pretext of marriage. He abandoned her when she conceived.

The girl and her family had campaigned unsuccessfully to abort the foetus in a case that highlighted administrative apathy. They were first declined permission for abortion by two courts in Bareilly and finally by the Allahabad high court, which on August 22 ordered the CMO to review her case.

The survivor’s hope of abortion ended on September 13 when a medical panel in Bareilly declined permission citing advance pregnancy.

At 11pm on Wednesday, the girl was taken to the community health centre (CHC) Shergarh in an ambulance after she complained of labour pain.

“The ANM asked us to bring her here (district hospital) and returned to her room,” said the aunt of the rape survivor who was at the CHC.

The nurse also declined to arrange an ambulance and allegedly asked the family members to take the girl to district hospital in an auto rickshaw.

The family members finally called another ambulance to reach Bareilly. She gave birth to the baby in the ambulance en route to the district hospital at around 2 am. The ambulance reached the hospital by 2:30 am.

The girl was attended by the duty nurse who admitted her and cut the umbilical cord.

Read | I don’t want the child: Bareilly rape victim denied termination of pregnancy

When asked about the incident chief medical officer (CMO) of Bareilly, Vijay Yadav refused to pull up the nurse.

“The nurse must have referred her to district hospital to avoid any complications during delivery,” he said.

The nurse at the CHC who declined help and the doctor in-charge could not be reached for comments.

The girl and the child are expected to remain at the hospital till Saturday.

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