It's one of those stories where you want to hate the accused, but you're having a hard time summoning the appropriate anger. A 13-year-old girl has been arrested outside Atlanta, Georgia on felony murder charges. Cops say the teen mother buried her newborn baby in the woods behind her house.
There's no answer yet from medical examiners of how the baby died, but it's almost beside the point. A child is dead. And a slightly older child, but a child all the same, is behind bars ... after giving birth.
Perhaps seeing teenage mothers splashed across the covers of the tabloids has made society inured to the horror of mere children giving birth, but I can't get out of my mind the image of a 13-year-old girl, scared and confused, trying to figure out what is wrong with her body as a child grows inside of her. I flash too to the image of a 13-year-old girl giving birth.
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At 13, I wasn't even wearing a bra yet; at least not on days when I didn't have to change in front of my peers in gym class. I probably had a Barbie or two still lying around my bedroom. I know I still slept with my stuffed rabbit. Because I was still very much a child.
That is what 13 is. It's the very first of the teen years, a far cry from womanhood.
It's not an age when someone -- anyone -- should be pregnant, forget being an actual mother. At best, this child's child should have been whisked away into an immediate adoption, the new "mother" already in therapy to help her deal with the tragic circumstances of her life.
The fact that this 13-year-old girl somehow ended up with a dead baby -- remember, despite the murder charge, we do not know how this baby died -- shows an apparent failure of the adults in her life to protect her.
If this girl somehow caused her baby's death, she needs punishment, yes. But let's not forget that she is a victim too, a child victim.
What do you think should be done with this girl, this 13-year-old mother?
Image via banspy/Flickr
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Comments 98
Give me a break! 13 is plenty old enough to know it's not okay to kill someone! I understand this girl was probably scared to death but that doesn't make her a victim here, necessarily. Of course we don't know the whole story. Assuming this is just some kid that thought she was old enough to have sex, got knocked up and then had to deal with a pregnancy she didn't want...yeah, I don't feel very sorry for her. I know where I was a 13 and I certainly knew better than to kill a newborn baby because I didn't want to deal with the consequences of my actions!
Assuming the baby DID die naturally, is is still ok to bury it in the woods behind your house?!?!? I don't think so!
These days children have health class officials at school discuss puberty and sex in fourth grade. The child was mature enough to want sex with her 14 yo. boyfriend, chances are she was old enough to realize she was pregnant. Parents these days pay less attention to their kids than ever before. Just because a child has a cell phone you can use to get a hold of them at any point does not mean parents should not meet the parents of your childs friend, check up personally on where they are hanging out, SPY yes! I said it SPY! Where did this girl get alone time with a boy long enough for coitus? Unfortunately something that is not taught to our children these days is RESPONSIBLITY. I can think of a dozen young teens who will do something right in front of you, then look you in the eye and claim their innocents. I'm betting the child mother just didn't want to come clean to her parents in fear of repercussions that would effect herself- ignoring her responsibility to the child growing inside of her. As for MURDER charges, well I would like to know from the autopsy if the child was dead before or after being buried. Burring a still born is stupid and illegal but a far cry from murder.
Its scary how jkids get pregnant so young now..and then "dont know what to do" as a mom the idea is totally terrifying, we need to keep open communication with our children. Things like this should not hapen...and still 18 years old....NOT and adult
I'm sorry but at 13 years old you are old enough to babysit. I myself have a twelve year old son, he would know it is wrong to bury a body without the proper authorities getting involved. At twelve my son knows what sex is, knows what pregnancy is, and knows of the topics in the media including birth control, abortion, and adoption. Thirteen may sound young, especially if you are going to look fondly backwards to a day when innocents was not robbed so early from our children by the media and lack of parental supervision.
Please. She knew exactly what was happening to her body. You can't compare who you were, writer, at 13 to contemporary 13-year-olds.
I'm glad she went to jail. People need to stop thinking these teen Moms are so stupid, because they aren't as dumb as you think, they know about sex, they just think they are more mature than they are. They have sex and THINK they want a baby. The only thing she is the victim of is society.
"She's so scared and confused, OMG pregnancy is sooo traumatic" we learn about it in schools and observe it in life. Her Mom sould be smacked for not bringing her BF up on statutory rape charges. 6 year old know the difference between life and death, she murdered a baby.
I do think she should be charged but for what depends on how the child died. If the child died naturally than I think she should only be charged for the illegal disposal of a body. She should also be charged as a child because that is exactly what she is. Teens know right from wrong but they are still children and sometimes make horrible decisions out of fear.
The bf shouldn't be charged unless he knew and/or participated in the babies death and/or burial.