This is the saddest article I've ever read!

[Chillyegg]

Women forced to be sterilised by courts!

m.bbc.co.uk/news/health-31128969
I feel so sorry for this lady and her children.

If you rsad the full judgment then I think it's impossible to agree with anyone other than what the judge has decreed.

She has a history of concealing pregnancies, giving birth at home in filthy surroundings, her partner fails to seek assistance when she needs medical care, she won't take contraception, she has a weak uterus that is likely to rupture next time she is pregnant.

There's no other option, surely? Other than locking her away so she can't come into contact with any men.

For me when an individual's choices get taken from them for right reasons or wrong then that is extremely sad
Parents take away choice from their children quite routinely. We are comfortable with this because children are not usually able to make appropriate choices - certainly not medical ones - and we trust their guardians to make the choices that have the child's best interests as a priority.

I see this as the same thing.

It sounds like an entirely sensible decision which would have saved a lot of heartache had it been made sooner.

The are about a million sadder things going on in the world every minute of the day.

full judgement

I don't find it that sad at all if I'm honest. People with learning disabilities have medical decisions made on their behalf all the time- this is no different.

Absolutely the best choice all round- we don't even know that she wants any of her children.

I actually feel slightly relieved that she can't endanger herself or any further pregnancies.

I just find myself wondering what kind of support she has had over the last, say, 10 years, and questioning how adequate it is.

It sounds like this woman is in need of far more supervisory care than she is getting, truthfully. To have fallen pregnant 6 times without any idea of how that happens? Somebody (or many) are taking massive advantage of a woman who, evidently, isnt as able to care for herself as well as some caseworker once thought.

THAT is horrifically sad. They have solved the wrong problem. It isnt that she keeps getting pregnant, it is that she is not protected from that happening when she cannot protect herself.

Indeed. So much for care in the community.

I think it's sad but certainly not the saddest thing Iv ever read.

Oh goodness me maybe it's my wording in my initial title, but my suggesting it's sad is not unreasonable. I agree for the benefit of this women's personal health as well as her children's it's something that has to be done.
But it's sad it's actually really really sad.
Yes jimmy saville / 911/Wars/murder/famine are all tragic occurrences.
My view probably not very articulately written in my opening thread is that as someone who's pregnant I find this very sad. Even if I wasn't pregnant I'd find it really sad! I'm not disagreeing with the sentence and somehow stating that we should all be careful "of the big bad court system".
I've worked and been responsible for very vulnerable children and adults and this story for me personally touched me.

I also agree what support has she had? 6 pregnancies and not knowing how it happens? That's sad!

I think it would be far sadder if this woman, who obviously has a significant learning disability, were to die as a result of further pregnancies or births that could have been prevented.

I understand Op's point but the court has made the right decision. The mother was obviously not capable of raising a child nor understanding the basic facts regarding pregnancy.

I once witnessed first hand a woman who had her fifth baby after the first four had been taken into care for a myriad of reasons and I was so sad she had that child. The mother had multiple and unsurmountable problems. Who were the fathers? Were where they?

The sight of that 6 week old baby will never leave me. This was in 1988 and I still wonder what happened to that poor little girl.

My other point ( I probably shouldn't be eating whilst initiating a thread) where are the father/s? Why is the women the only one being "helped" by the courts?
Of course I'm not suggesting that the death of a child or the women is not tragic!
And she should indeed be helped!bit where's the support? She's concealed pregnancy's why? Did she want to keep the children and felt scared by respective authorities? What lasting damage will this court case/procedure incur?

Read the judgement ^ her 'partner' was even more challenged. It doesn't sound like she has been exploited by anyone just that she is completely incapable of understanding life in the way most of us would.

I would hope that the father is a long-term partner (who likely have learning difficulties of his own). Rather than random predatory men.

Legally though, I've never heard of a man with learning difficulties be ordered by a court to have a vasectomy. I guess it would be hard to do as how would you argue the surgery was for his benefit (this woman had to be in life-threatening danger before it was considered appropriate).

Chilly

You can fix many things. Inexperience, immaturity, bad experiences, addiction etc.

Social workers and health care professionals have tools at their disposal to help those in need of help whether they reach out for it or not.

Sometimes a whole host of families, friends and professionals cannot help. They are not miracle workers to 'fix' what seems to be learning difficulties or severe mental health problems.

Certain men are responsible for her sad predicament but I am sure they are not going to queue up to admit it.

If by "helped" you mean ordered to be sterilised, then obviously it's the woman this will apply to. She is the one who is likely to die from further pregnancies- not him.

There'd no reason to sterilise him that would be in his interests- and that's what they're looking for.

I think this makes me very sad because it reminds me of one specific child I worked with and his mother. There was innumerable safeguarding issues, I remember at the time something very similar being suggested ( I'm not sure it happened the child moved school) and the mum and the dad who both had SN being very distraught.

Man sterilised by court order:

m.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-23721893

I don't agree

If she is sterilised she will be saved from an unwanted and potentially fatal pregnancy, and the care system won't be filled with another poor child

There are things way sadder out there

But the dick wads that's keep impregnating her ! Where are they in all this

Very sensible ruling.

Goodness me, she sounds incredibly vulnerable and my first thought was is she being abused :(

I don't see why I'm unreasonable to feel compassion and sadness for another human being, who's bodies autonomy has been taken from them because of their personal situation.

But she doesn't understand even how she got pregnant - how can she be expected to make decisions about her own body? Or should she just keep churning out children?