A total of 274 minors aged between 14 and 17 gave birth at the Kepez Public Hospital in Turkey’s southern province of Antalya, the BirGün newspaper reported on Monday.
According to data the daily obtained from sources within the hospital, 115 of the minors were Turkish citizens while 159 were foreigners, mostly from Syria and Afghanistan.
Hospital officials said all deliveries involving minors are reported to the authorities.
Antalya Bar Association Chairwoman Serap Ertuğrul said, “The principle of protecting children dictates that all births by minors become subject to legal procedures regardless of citizenship,” she told BirGün, adding, “provided the births are not covered up.”