A Chilean teen has been arrested for selling her newborn baby on Facebook for a paltry sum of $113. However, as attorney Ernesto Silva, Prosecutor North Center explained, the issue is that Chile does not consider it an offense to offer the delivery of a newborn over the Internet, even for financial compensation.
The shocking case however, does not seem to be the one propelled by greed, but because of situations in poor family, where senior family members were not ready to accept the responsibilities of an unmarried teenage mother and her child.
According to a report by the Chilean website cooperative.cl, Veronica Chaparro, the 18-year old mother, learned of her pregnancy in February 2013 and reported it to her boyfriend, aged 17 years. Upon such information, the family of the young man was ready to bear the expenses of delivery of the newborn. However, Veronica’s mother, Angela Chaparro, 42, and Daniela Perez, her older sister objected to the idea of caring for the baby and began planning for the sale.
As Miguel Ampuero, Prefect of the Special Police Brigade explained, Veronica had three choices: “sell, abort, or give up for adoption.”
A family from Concepcion initially showed interest, but withdrew.Later, a family from Puento Alto paid for the expenses of delivery and registering of the newborn which amounted to about $1870. They then paid the small amount asked for the baby to Veronica, who lives in the Maipu district of Santiago, the capital of Chile.
Following the transaction, both the buyers and the seller’s family, including Veronica, her mother, and sister were arrested by the Chilean police.