Judge clears way for incest-case baby to be adopted

A High Court judge in Belfast has cleared the way for the adoption of a two-year-old child whose parents are teenage brother and sister.

Mr Justice O’Hara ruled that the agreement of the boy’s mother to a freeing order can be dispensed with because she is incapable of giving consent. His verdict came in a case involving family circumstances described as “depressing” and “hugely unsatisfactory”.

The boy, referred to as J, was born in 2012. His mother, a schoolgirl identified only as A, was 13 when she became pregnant while his father, Z, was 15 at the time.

Despite being disputed by Z, DNA testing proved J is his son. Both A and her son were taken into care – in different settings – within months of the birth. With no suitable family arrangements available, J has since been placed with another couple.

The organisation involved in the case sought a freeing order on the basis that it is in J’s bests interests to be adopted – a view the judge held to be clearly correct.