A 16-year-old Argentine girl has given birth to female triplets - for the second time

[Anti-Mindvirus]

Originally Posted by BBC News

The girl, named only as Pamela, had her first set of female triplets aged 15, having first given birth to a son when she was just 14.

All seven children were born prematurely but without any kind of fertility treatment.

While doctors say the three newborns and their mother are well, the case has sparked debate across Argentina.

In bars and cafes, as well as the letters pages of newspapers, there has been widespread criticism of Pamela's alleged promiscuity.


Pamela's family already receives help from the provincial authorities, which donated land and built them a house when the first set of triplets was born.

Pamela's mother, who cleans houses to support her daughter and rapidly increasing number of grandchildren, says they will now seek more assistance from the government for the new additions to the family.

Some Argentines are arguing that perhaps what Pamela needs is more advice on contraception.

The teenager, who will be 17 on Monday, comes from the remote town of Leones in the central Argentine province of Cordoba.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7258072.stm

Why are children giving birth to children?

[psyches_reflection]

Children have been giving birth to children for centuries. What's amazing is that she's had so many! Two sets of triplets within two years? That seems rather unusual in one so young, or at all.

[Duane]

*walks in dressed as Don King* Only in South America!

[acidxrainbows]

*cough* Skaaaank. *cough*
Her family is trying to get more cash from the government instead of trying to get her to quit having sex?
Oh yeah, cause THAT makes sense.

[Underwater Ophelia]

Even if she stopped having sex now, the babies are already born, so they'd need help anyway.

[blackwater1110]

Fuck that, you can't just pump out babies and then expect the government to pony up for it. I don't like calling people sluts but I think we've got a winner. Or maybe she's not a slut; maybe she's just stupid. Usually I'm on the other side when it comes to welfare, but I think she should be left to fend for herself with her seven children, because if she doesn't feel the consequences of her actions, then she's going to continue to be irresponsible.

[Wormboy]

"I swear I'll pull out on time."

Ladies, if you fall for that line, you deserve to go sit on a rocket and hit the ignition.

[beauismyhorse]

Wow... You'd think after the first kid she'd be smart enough to use some sort of birth control? Or possibly stop having sex? But no! Of course not. I wonder who the father is? Instead of the government having to pay for the girl's babies, maybe the father should be helping out?
"Some Argentines are arguing that perhaps what Pamela needs is more advice on contraception." No kidding.

[psyches_reflection]

Maybe she should seek corporate sponsorship to help deal with the costs rather than relying on the state? There was a set of sextuplets born in Britain in the 70's who were provided for in part by various baby-care companies in exchange for publicity.

... I'm thinking Durex.

[Underwater Ophelia]

You guys really take living in first-world country suburbs for granted, don't you?

[Godslayer Jillian]

All people's posts here save for Ophelia's, Wormboy's, and the OP's are idiotic.

[Signe]

Whoa. Shit. That's bizarre.

[Tam Li Hua]

Whoa, that's...odd.

As for the 'having babies to get more government money', isn't that a problem in the States too..?

[JCC]

Originally Posted by blackwater1110

Fuck that, you can't just pump out babies and then expect the government to pony up for it. I don't like calling people sluts but I think we've got a winner. Or maybe she's not a slut; maybe she's just stupid. Usually I'm on the other side when it comes to welfare, but I think she should be left to fend for herself with her seven children, because if she doesn't feel the consequences of her actions, then she's going to continue to be irresponsible.

*cough*

That's a stupid idea.

[Apathy's_Child]

Originally Posted by blackwater1110

Fuck that, you can't just pump out babies and then expect the government to pony up for it. I don't like calling people sluts but I think we've got a winner. Or maybe she's not a slut; maybe she's just stupid. Usually I'm on the other side when it comes to welfare, but I think she should be left to fend for herself with her seven children, because if she doesn't feel the consequences of her actions, then she's going to continue to be irresponsible.

It's all good when talking about her, but what about the kids? Should they be raised in complete poverty because their mom made some bad decisions?

The way I see it, a nation has a simple decision to make when it comes to welfare - they take care of them and theirs, or they leave them to fend for themselves. (Of course, this only really applies to nations in which this is even an option, financially speaking.) It's frustrating to see the system being wilfully abused, in general, even if it's not the case here, but I'd rather live in a society which cares about those born into it than one which just says, "you had them, you fucking support them", thereby writing off the babies along with the mother. All other issues surrounding this have the hallmarks of unresolvable paradox and you can flip-flop back and forth for hours over it, but if I had to choose a side to the debate, that's it. It's not perfect, but it's a hell of a lot better than the alternative IMO.

[Dark Clarissa]

Originally Posted by beauismyhorse

Wow... You'd think after the first kid she'd be smart enough to use some sort of birth control? Or possibly stop having sex? But no! Of course not. I wonder who the father is? Instead of the government having to pay for the girl's babies, maybe the father should be helping out?
"Some Argentines are arguing that perhaps what Pamela needs is more advice on contraception." No kidding.

I don't know enough about the family's circumstances to comment on whether or not they should or should not get government assistance (barring the fact that there are so many babies which might indicate that they should). However, I agree with you about the father...I mean its all well and good to condemn the young girl because of her stupidity - but it takes two to tango and he should be made to take responsibility too.

[Tea and Cake or Death]

Yes, it's a little nuts for her to keep doing this. But I want to know what the Mother is teaching this child about sexual responsibility? Perhaps she already knows better but just doesn't care. It's not a healthy situation, but can you really do about it? Nothing. If you take her kids away from her it seems likely that she would just make more. It's her life to ruin if she sees fit. It's just a shame she will manage to ruin others with it. I don't know.

THIS is a shame.... A horrible shame.

"Peruvian five-year-old Lina Medina, accompanied by her 11-month-old-son Gerardo, and Doctor Lozada who attended her son's birth, are shown in this 1940 file photo taken in Lima's hospital.

When her child was born by Caesarean section in May 1939, Medina made medical history, and is still the youngest known mother in the world."

Rest here...... http://www.snopes.com/pregnant/medina.asp

[Dark Clarissa]

Originally Posted by Tea and Cake or Death

...
"Peruvian five-year-old Lina Medina, accompanied by her 11-month-old-son Gerardo, and Doctor Lozada who attended her son's birth, are shown in this 1940 file photo taken in Lima's hospital.

When her child was born by Caesarean section in May 1939, Medina made medical history, and is still the youngest known mother in the world."

Rest here...... http://www.snopes.com/pregnant/medina.asp

OMG the poor girl! Paedos should be tortured to within an whisper of death and then tortured again. Bastards.

[JCC]

Originally Posted by Dark Clarissa

OMG the poor girl! Paedos should be tortured to within an whisper of death and then tortured again. Bastards.

You hopefully mean child molesters.

Paedophiles are just people with an unfortunate sexual preference.

[Crying_Crimson_Tears]

Excuse me for being ignorant, but I thought Argentina was a country where teenagers married young and had kids young.

But I do find it strange that she gave birth to two sets of triplets in two years.....

[HumanePain]

Originally Posted by Crying_Crimson_Tears

Excuse me for being ignorant, but I thought Argentina was a country where teenagers married young and had kids young.

But I do find it strange that she gave birth to two sets of triplets in two years.....

Right you are Crimson. Age 15 in Argentina. Here are the ages for other countries:

Country M/F M/M F/F
Albania 14 14 14
Andorra 16 16 16
Argentina 12/15 12 12/15
Aruba 16 16 16
Austria* 14 18 14
Belarus 16 16 16
Belgium 16 16 16
Bosnia 16 16 16
Brazil 14/18 14 14/18
Bulgaria 14/15 14 14/18
Burkina Faso* 13 21 21
Canada 14 14 14
Colombia 12/14 14 174
Croatia 14 14 14/18
Czech Republic 15 15 15
Denmark 15 15 15
Estonia 14 16 16
France 15 15 15
Germany 14/16 14 14/16
Greece 15/17 17 15/17
Guadelope 15 15 15
Honduras 14 14 14
Iceland 14 14 14
Ireland 17 17 17
Israel 16 16 16
Italy 14 14 14
Japan 13 13 13
Korea 13 13 13
Kosovo* 14 18 14
Liechtenstein* 14 18 14
Luxembourg 16 16 16
Malta 12/18 12 12/18
Martinique 15 15 15
Mexico* 12 18 18
Monaco 15 15 15
Montenegro 14 14 14
Netherlands 12/16 12 12/16
New Zealand 16 16 16
Norway 16 16 16
Poland 15 15 15
Russia 14/16 14 14/16
San Marino 14/16 14 14/16
Serbia* 14 18 14
Slovakia 15 15 15
Slovenia 14 14 14
Spain 13 13 13
Switzerland 16 16 16
Turkey* 15/16 18 18
Ukraine 16 16 16
U.K 16 16 16

[Godslayer Jillian]

Originally Posted by Crying_Crimson_Tears

Excuse me for being ignorant, but I thought Argentina was a country where teenagers married young and had kids young.

Argentina is quite advanced for a Latin American country, but indeed it is common to see young women having children and it has nothing to do with them being "irresponsible brats"
I'm not saying she planned these pregnancies and she has everything under control, because she clearly hasn't, but it does pisses me off how everyone's talking as if it was an American problem.
Hell, do you guys even know Argentina's welfare system?

[blackwater1110]

Originally Posted by Apathy's_Child

It's all good when talking about her, but what about the kids? Should they be raised in complete poverty because their mom made some bad decisions?

The way I see it, a nation has a simple decision to make when it comes to welfare - they take care of them and theirs, or they leave them to fend for themselves. (Of course, this only really applies to nations in which this is even an option, financially speaking.) It's frustrating to see the system being wilfully abused, in general, even if it's not the case here, but I'd rather live in a society which cares about those born into it than one which just says, "you had them, you fucking support them", thereby writing off the babies along with the mother. All other issues surrounding this have the hallmarks of unresolvable paradox and you can flip-flop back and forth for hours over it, but if I had to choose a side to the debate, that's it. It's not perfect, but it's a hell of a lot better than the alternative IMO.

I agree that if the mom makes bad decisions, the kids shouldn't suffer for it. If she can't take care of them, and her parents are willing to, they can do it. If her parents aren't willing to take care of them, they could be taken to an orphanage and provided education until a) they are adopted, b) the mother gets her shit together, or c) they come of age. Some would argue that orphanages are horrible places for children, and that money would be better spent giving the mother the resources she needs to raise the kids at home. But how good of an environment for her kids can she really provide? As much as it affects most people's sensibilities, I see it as a privilege to raise kids, not a right. There are a lot of messed up homes, including parts of my own family, that could be a lot worse than what goes on at an orphanage.
*edit* I suppose the reason I said what I originally said about the mother is because I was enraged by the irresponsibility of the act. I see it as a crime to bring a kid into this world without a promise to do a damn good job raising it.

[Ishkabibble]

It's not really irresponsibility acting by itself that leads to early pregnancy, but ignorance plays a big part as well. Having lived with women who are still in their teens and that have ended up pregnant, I have noticed ignorance in the sense that they don't really think about what is in stake for the future or that they don't care what happens to their children as long as they have enough to eat for that day. At least four different women that have worked in my house have left due to pregnancy, it is sad to see them pregnant, and even sadder that some don't even have decent homes. But the choice of having sex is completely theirs, and so is the responsibility of the children they might bare. It is nice that some governments decide to help out these young mothers, but it is not the responsibility or the job of the government to see what they can do to make the lives of these children (who I have to add, are brought to the world without them asking for it) less miserable. The government tries to help, but for it to be able to do something, people have to help, too. And young mothers aren't really helping at all. But maybe it is better for the children that these women bare to go to facilities where they can have a better lifestyle than what their mothers could offer to them.

[korinna5555]

Jillian, I love you.

People.. for all you know, she could be a better mother than some of yours. Don't be so damn judgmental. The big "wow" factor is the second set of triplets, not her age.