Well, this seems a little extreme
Dec. 2nd, 2013 12:04 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
In a case which has been described by those representing the mother as “unprecedented,” a court order was obtained, in August 2012, for the Italian mother-to-be, in England on a work placement at the time, to be enforced to give birth “by way of cesarean section.”
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Date: 2013-12-02 10:28 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-12-03 01:53 pm (UTC)http://pinktape.co.uk/cases/never-let-the-facts-get-in-the-way-of-a-good-story-eh/
Headline says it all, rest of it in summary is "never believe anything in a British newspaper, as even the quality ones don't factcheck and the story then gets repeated all over the place without further enquiry"
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Date: 2013-12-08 10:17 am (UTC)In short, the initial media report was blatant sensationalism and in a number of places flat-out lying (for example, the statement that the mother had suffered "a panic attack")
on the part of a journalist and a politician with known previous for both.
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Date: 2013-12-02 05:45 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-12-02 10:23 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-12-02 10:54 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-12-02 05:49 pm (UTC)I have heard of cases in the US where a Caesarean was conducted against the mother's wishes due to claimed medical necessity... but Holy Shit. Separating the two is a new one.
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Date: 2013-12-02 06:03 pm (UTC)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fetal_abduction
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Date: 2013-12-02 07:25 pm (UTC)Perhaps the Essex Social workers were just trying to prove that the United States is not really that barbaric compared to Great Britain after all.
As ever, it is not actually that simple
Date: 2013-12-03 12:56 am (UTC)There is a lot of incomplete and sensationalist reporting of this case. Essex County Council has issued a press release that makes some important points:
- This woman had already had Italian social services intervene regarding her other children.
- The request for a court order to allow a caesarian without her consent was made by the hospital that was accommodating her under mental health laws, because of grave concerns for her health and that of the baby.
- Subsequent concerns about the risk the mother posed to the child led to another court granting a care order regarding the child.
Now, this is an extraordinary set of circumstances. But this seems to have been a case where medical and social services professionals have sought legal orders allowing drastic intervention to protect the life and well-being of both mother and child. The court process for adults with mental health problems and for children is not 'secret', it is private, which is why details are sparse. That being said, there is a move at present to try to allow more open reporting of such cases provided that identities of the people involved can be kept private, and I expect much more information about this case to be available soon.
Lucy Reed, a very respected family lawyer and blogger (again, someone I know) has written a very useful summary of matters. As she notes, it is possible that something has gone very wrong here. But it is also possible that professionals and judges have made very hard decisions because they were necessary to avoid worse outcomes.
Re: As ever, it is not actually that simple
Date: 2013-12-03 01:54 am (UTC)This just seems like the UK is trying to double down over the USA's TSA in becoming unfriendly to visitors. "Come visit the UK for two weeks, and we'll compel surgery and take your child, based on legal proceedings to which you were not a party!"
Re: As ever, it is not actually that simple
Date: 2013-12-03 08:37 am (UTC)Removal of children from parents in England is governed by the Children Act 1989, and this makes it clear that the interests of the child are paramount. This child was born in England and the courts aren't going to go "Huh, some other country's problem, deport it" when considering her rights.
Placement outside the family is the last resort option for the family courts when dealing with children taken into care. But there is ample evidence that it is damaging for children to be moved from one family to another, and so the approach in England is to seek a permanent outcome (return to parent, placement with family, placement for adoption) relatively quickly rather than allowing a child to spend years in what may be a series of temporary placements waiting to see if it is possible to return that child to the parent(s).
Re: As ever, it is not actually that simple
Date: 2013-12-03 08:44 am (UTC)That would not be the case. If an adult is held to lack capacity to manage his or her affairs then the Official Solicitor will instruct lawyers to represent him/her, usually at public expense. Children in care cases have a court-appointed litigation guardian who actively represents the child's interests in legal proceedings, and the parents (or anyone else with parental responsibility for a child in such circumstances) gets free, non-means-tested legal aid to fund their lawyers.
Re: As ever, it is not actually that simple
Date: 2013-12-03 10:09 pm (UTC)* Mother detained under Section 3 of the Mental Health Act on 13 June 2012
* Mother took part in the care proceedings ending on 1 February 2013
The combination of the two very strongly suggest that she had not taken part in any earlier proceedings. While it's all very nice to have a lawyer speaking on your behalf, if you're not permitted to speak for yourself, then you're the object of the hearing, not a party to it.
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Date: 2013-12-03 12:03 pm (UTC)