Abandoned boy freed for adoption by court order

Abandoned boy freed for adoption by court order

The boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was discovered wrapped in a towel at the Emergency Department at 5.40 am on Sunday 18 March.

Although the States police and the Health Department launched an investigation to try to trace the boy’s mother, she could not be found. And despite extensive media coverage, the woman did not come forward.

In April the police said they had closed the case as all attempts to track down the mother had been ‘exhausted’.

The Family Division of the Royal Court has now granted an order following an application by the Health Minister to free the boy for adoption. A freeing order means that the child’s mother loses her parental responsibility and that they instead lie with the Health Minister.

Under the law a mother cannot consent to a freeing order within six months of the birth. The Health Minister made the application seven weeks after the baby’s birth.

According to a recently published judgment, the boy, who was taken into the care of his current foster carers six days after his birth, is gaining weight and developing in line with other babies of his age.

‘He is healthy and there are no concerns, following health screening, that he has been exposed to substances or stress in utero that can impact on a child’s development,’ the judgment says. ‘He is observed to be a calm and settled baby.’

The court found that it was in the child’s best interests to allow him to ‘develop and cement attachments’ with his foster parents.

‘We do not know if the mother will or will not make her identity public,’ the judgment states. ‘Her conduct so far suggests she will not. If she were to come forward to claim her son, she will have to do so soon.

‘Having regard to all the different possibilities, we think it is in the child’s best interests that the order should be made today to free him for adoption.’

However, the judgment adds that if the mother was to come forward at this stage, the Health Minister should not treat the freeing order as conclusive and in the court’s view should ‘think very carefully about whether to come back to this court and seek an order which sets the freeing order aside’.

The judgment also adds that if no actual adoption was made within 12 months, the mother has a statutory right to challenge the freeing order.

Following its decision, the court was asked to consider placing the judgment on file rather than publishing it in the public domain.

However, the judgment states: ‘The purpose of the publication is to ensure the mother is aware that her baby has been freed for adoption, and that, if she is to have any hope of reversing her previous decision not to have care of the child, she will need to take steps very soon indeed.

‘Publication of the judgment and any publicity given to it through the media will play its part in ensuring that she is aware that is the position.’

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