President of the Family Division, Andrew McFarlane has suggested that the law should be changed so that judges can make care orders while a child is still in the womb. The President’s recommendation fails to understand how the policy could cause mothers heightened stress during pregnancy, leading to a sharp rise in miscarriages.
The recommendation comes at a time when newborns being taken into care are at an all time high, and prominent social care professionals are calling for the system to divert families away from the courts.
It is not just this site that is appalled by the President’s thinking on child welfare. The recommendation has shocked families in the UK, who took to social media this week to voice their concerns.
One mother told her friends on Facebook, “Oh Andrew McFarlane, says it all….. never mind the fact that a child isn’t even recognised in law until it’s born, but an order is being made 🤔…interesting…..”.
Another mother who had been through care proceedings said, “It is inhumane. It’s unthinkable.”
Other parents thought that the idea suggested the President was a misogynist, while some posters took the view that the policy could lead to increased suicide rates and backstreet abortions. An issue which also concerned commentators was the possibility of the policy being abused to feed the adoption and fostering sectors by effectively securing babies for these markets. One poster wrote, “Not a problem if they take kids from lunatics but we know it’s another legal instrument [the family court] will abuse.”
A father on Facebook pointed out the confusion in law over parental rights and the rights of the court, “Fkn disgusting a father has no rights to a child before it’s born, but social services should have. Has this fkn world gone mad?”
Some posters thought the policy was more suited to a story line in sci-fi series The X-Files.
McFarlane made his recommendation during a speech he gave at a conference for the Association of Lawyers for Children in Bristol. He told attendees:
“Irrespective of any practical difficulties that may arise in terms of listing and then conducting a court hearing during the first few days of a child’s life, there are, I believe, important principles of fairness and, frankly, humanity which may indicate that, in some cases, it would be in the interests of all concerned if some form of pre-birth court process could be undertaken…
Given the number of such cases which are now coming before the Family Court, and in the light of the real difficulties which some of these cases can generate, I wonder whether the time has come to consider some amendment to the statutory scheme to allow for the exercise of a prospective pre-birth jurisdiction in appropriate cases.”
While the President believes the idea of pre-birth court hearings is a humane alternative to what is currently on offer, this is not correct. Family court proceedings are deeply invasive and often cause families severe anxiety which can go on to create mental health disorders, like PTSD. The added emotional trauma and physical stress of having to undergo assessments and hearings during pregnancy will most certainly lead to women having miscarriages, or increasingly choosing to end their own lives.
What the President proposes will leave him with a great deal of blood on his hands.
Very many thanks to Michele Simmons for sharing this development with us.
christine claven said:
educate the mothers on all aspects of caring ..for a child .. and support where its really needed not harrassment or judgemental overworked social workers. children in local authority care or foster homes are not protected from harm . fail to see how they think its safer place for children … mothers facing this threat of having thier babies taken away will create even more problems education and support . financally as well the state pays more to care homes and foster parents than needed.too many chiefs in the system not enough indians..my opinion only .as i see it.
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tummum said:
Reblogged this on tummum's Blog and commented:
Please share everywhere. Been some interesting feedback xx
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tummum said:
Thank you for this Researching Forum. I think it’s high time he quit xx
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Natasha said:
xxxxxx
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Ian Josephs said:
Many mothers contacting me have revealed how they aborted babies rather than have them stolen by socil services and others have said they would do that and have actually done it !
Sir Andrew is not only helping to enrich the fostering and adoption industries but now also promoting abotion clinics !
“Follow the dollar ” is a very true saying that so very often reveals Financial motives for what at first appear to be humanitarian actions !
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Louise S said:
I wonder if Marie Stopes will have some kind of stakehold in this new policy? It sounds like a great way to increase the number of abortions.
I also wonder if this is a response to the increasing number of mothers who are fleeing abroad, often later on in pregnancy.
However, there is no one to stop a pregnant woman from concealing her pregnancy and leaving the country.
Things are about to get much worse before they ever get better.
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[Name Withheld] said:
although cafcass (after a knowing look from the ss legal team) made the claim “risk of emotional harm in the future”, and the official word in parliament was “risk of future emotional abuse”. the social worker who snatched my eldest 2 (without consent or a court order) told me it was because she’d watched a documentary about men with depression who murder their children before committing suicide, i had bog standard depression just like millions of other parents. but in her sick twisted mind she probably thought she was rescuing the children? or was it just an excuse to get her promotion from “senior practitioner” to social worker? perhaps someone should investigate, although we all know that will never happen.
our 3rd was snatched at birth, the social worker told me it was because your other children were successfully adopted, no other reason.
our 4th, the social worker admitted in court that the plan was adoption from the moment they knew of the pregnancy, he admitted that there was no plan of reunification, no plan for “the child” to be placed with relatives. they’d just skipped over all their rules and straight to adoption. of course the social worker that told the truth was replaced with one who didn’t know us and would only say what it was told to say, the same as all the other cases.
there will be no more cases after my wife get herself sterilised after a miscarriage and our gp telling us that ss will snatch all of our future children even though we’ve never harmed any of our children and have the audio recording of an ss meeting to prove it.
they’re just a bunch of organised criminals who operate a human trafficking ring inside the privacy of a constitutionally illegal private pretend courtroom, and the sooner it’s fully investigated and someone has the nuts to actually make some arrests of these criminals and press charges the better for everyone in the uk who has a family.
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Anna said:
Can’t believe that after wat Hong TV programme they that unprofessional they can’t take anything on individual merits its all “fear” based on defensive professionalism.to take children because some HSS depression after watching TV programme ,they have been banging on about stigma on mental health yet they foster it the stigma.I did not have mental health problems yet they used mental health against.do you antispychotics are neuro leptics nothing to do with what affects mental health!they actually kill people and take away their motivation .you dont need drugs they do more harm than good wouldn’t even tell about depression.people with difficulties should keep children.these professionals acting outside remits job drs ription they not wualifired to asses etc.mental health is automatically taken as risk factor.dont share with them go privately they give two hoots.I did not have problems yet they continue to say I do.it says over over again not psychotic every thing fine.they said they desperately wanted to return the children but I wasn’t cooperating.what gets me is that I think there was something they knew they would be in serious trouble for.they lied knoeing my that’s criminal offence under mental health a t section 26 1983 .and it does apply in child welfare cases, as to lie is to say dome thing is risk when its not.its deliberate sillfull lies.I blame public and other people criticising ss in baby p cases.these cases used to give more power and to generalise on statistics.my children dont have any fillings or teeth removed.the children who bullied were serious risk to children’s welfare ,what about emotional abuse of bullying.I told my go what they did was child abuse and sbise of me he nodded in agreement.on neuro leptics you can’t move.there’s good book called understanding psychiatric medicines by David Healy.it actually criticises mental health experts.this is an out stepping of rank by authorities it’s beast system.they are stealing children for agenda what about abuse in schools now they a tively sift children for abuse at school (by teachers for in home) they pick on people for no reason.the man who broke his sons back still had custody of him.the woman was awful the children hated her.she was abusive he wasn’t.
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MeMe said:
Full text of McFarlane’s speech is here >>>> https://www.judiciary.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Speech-by-Rt.-Hon.-Sir-Andrew-McFarlane-Association-of-Lawyers-for-Children-Conference-2018.pdf
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Anna said:
Abusive authorities should not get child they dont tell you where. Hold is.and I dont want fathers to have rights of unborn child not on unwed mum.and fathers do have rights they just have to apply.you can’t force involvement.not right.if u wed.it is mysoginostic and its some. In professionals who are doing it using men to override mothers control relationship.I’m not lunatic I HD the mother and the man discussing sexual things about me in relationship with out me being g involved.they used mother to try to get child to themselves it called being a breeder.they used mental health on me I’m not ill.
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[Name Withheld] said:
It would be great for some advice for my daughter she is pregnant and worried about this
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Natasha said:
Hi there, thank you for your comment. We have sent you an email. Researching Reform.
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Ian Josephs said:
Has Sir Andrew (like many family judges) got shares in a fostering and adoption agency? I am not accusing, am just asking !!
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tummum said:
I am curious to know too. He covered up fraud (his own words, fraud) in my Case and he used the word repeatedly within the Family Court room concerning the GAL and the SW in my Case. The GAL was very experienced, due to retire. The SW was experienced too.
Anyway, I came across this blog I found most interesting and about the Founder.
http://www.divorceandthecity.co.uk/bad-judges-of-21st-century-primary/
It could certainly prove useful with research anyway xx
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Dr. Manhattan. said:
“appalled by the President’s thinking”
is an understatement. this man should not be allowed anywhere near a court dealing with children being held on family death row by the SS.
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[Name Withheld] said:
Its ok caused i now have the evidence to sue u for my 5 children and to expose u on tele to the whole country and world for wat u lot really are
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MeMe said:
Who, WHO? tells a 7 yr old who’s actually come home with stars from school for his joined up writing, that it is terrible, rips up the xmas card and makes him do another one in UNJOINED up writing!!!!????? When you haven’t got a partner in life to exert your coercive control, dominance nad abuse on, whaddya do?? Oh! That’s right! You do it to your child instead because you’re a pathetic savage piece of ****. Aided and abetted by delusional social workers and a Family Court system WHICH CONTINUES TO ALLOW DOMESTIC ABUSE PERPETRATORS CONTACT WITH THEIR CHILDREN, even in instances where the mother has had multiple complaints upheld by external investigators against her LA for their lying. And they wonder why the numbers of children self harming are rising? JusticeMcFarlane are you reading??? DO you care??? #LISTENTOTHECHILDINCOURT #CHILDRENTOTESTIFY #CHILDRENSRIGHTSFIRST #NOTALWAYSPARENTALALIENATION
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Louise S said:
You can always have a baby outside the UK. Maybe you should consider moving to eastern Europe and book into a private hospital. If your wife gets pregnant again Poland have also granted asylum to other fleeing families.
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Ian Josephs said:
This wicked old babysnatcher just cannot it seems cause enough grief confiscating babies at birth .He now attacks them in the womb as well so as to double the misery of his victims while he gloats in his ivory tower smirking to himself with pleasure at the devastating power he has exercised on the vulnerable …………..
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Dr. Manhattan. said:
If i were working with Aliens i would call for this man along with many others to be removed from the planet and placed into exile out in space. see how powerful they feel then.
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