A judge has ruled that a baby must be adopted, partly because the father refuses to give it a name.
A judge has ruled that a baby must be adopted, partly because the father refuses to give it a name.Mrs Justice Parker ruled that the five-month-old baby boy should be put into care after she heard how the father had punched a male social worker several times at a previous court hearing and had threatened to kill a female social worker placed with the family.
The judge explained that her decision to put the child up for adoption was also based on the fact that the father of the child had refused to give him a name. She said the father had been behind the “emotionally harmful” decision not to name the boy.
Mrs Justice Parker outlined her reasoning in a public ruling following a private hearing at a family court in Watford.
“His father has refused to give him a name,” said Mrs Justice Parker in her ruling. “I think ideally the mother independently would not have taken that view.”
She went on: “I truly think that it is emotionally harmful not to give a child a name.”
The judge also made clear that the fact that the mother of the child had a learning difficulty was not the reason that she came to her decision.
“Learning disability is not in itself a reason for a parent not looking after a child. Many clever people make absolutely rotten parents and many people who are intellectually impaired are warm and caring and provide children with a wonderful upbringing. No one is a perfect parent.” she said.
Mrs Justice Parker explained that it was the behaviour of the father that contributed most to her final decision and that the couple’s two-year-old son was taken into care last year after another judge raised similar fears and described the father’s behaviour towards social services staff as “dangerous”.
The couple have stated their intention to appeal the decision.