The family of a young girl aged 11 who became pregnant after she was allegedly raped by her stepfather’s 61-year-old dad have said that they are going to continue with her pregnancy despite being offered an abortion.

The pregnancy of the child took place in Yapacani, which is a town located in the province of Ichilo, in the eastern Bolivian department of Santa Cruz.

The decision made by the young girl’s family was revealed by their lawyer, named as Giovanni Cabello in local media outlet Pagina Siete, who is quoted as saying: “This was a decision (to continue the pregnancy) expressed in the morning and it is inserted in the medical history, so that the maternity ward and all its team are proceeding according to the will expressed by the family.”

The newspaper reports that on Thursday (21st October), the termination of the pregnancy of the 11-year-old girl had been accepted, but over the weekend the girl’s family reportedly changed their mind and signed the consent to continue the pregnancy.

This reportedly goes against the wishes of the girl’s doctors and of the judicial authorities, who had advised that the pregnancy should be terminated.

The young girl, who has not been named, was allegedly raped by her stepfather’s father, who has not been named either.

The suspect, aged 61, according to local media outlet El Deber, is in custody. The newspaper reports that the 11-year-old and her unnamed 15-year-old sister had been living under the care of the suspect since last February, because their mother and father, unnamed, were working in the capital La Paz as a cook and as a bricklayer, respectively.

The 11-year-old was determined to be 21 weeks pregnant after an ultrasound was performed by doctors.