Row over whether woman can keep baby

A pregnant woman with a learning disability could face having her child taken into care after it is born.

Kerry Robertson, 17, was last year prevented from getting married after it was claimed she lacked the capacity to consent to the ceremony.

Miss Robertson, of Dunfermline in Fife, is now involved in an ongoing legal dispute to determine whether she has sufficient mental capacity to marry her fiance Mark McDougall.

Miss Robertson told reporters she has been told that she will be unable to keep her baby when it is born in January.

But Fife Council's executive director of social services Stephen Moore said "no decision" had yet been made on the baby's future.

He said: "People, including the family, will make a judgment about the welfare of the baby after the baby is born.

"It will be decided then whether she has the capacity to look after the baby.

"People will work with the young mother to look after the baby. She will be given every support.

"But someone needs to make the judgment about whether she can care for the baby, and that decision will be taken when the baby has been born.

"Much of the work we do is governed by legislation. Complex decisions are made that balance risk and welfare while supporting people at times of personal or family need.

"We will always work with people for the best outcome for all involved."

But organisations campaigning on behalf of people with a learning disability expressed concern about the way Miss Robertson's case was being handled, and called for "the right support" to be given to the expectant mother.

Norman Dunning, Chief Executive of Enable Scotland, said: "We would be very concerned if her learning disability was perceived as a barrier itself to her marrying and bringing up her child.

"People with learning disabilities do not have loving disabilities.

"There is both research and practice evidence that people with learning disabilities are no worse at bringing up children than other families facing disadvantages - what is crucial is that they get the right level of support from the start."

And Mencap's chief executive Mark Goldring said: "There are around a quarter of a million parents with a learning disability in the UK, all of whom should have the same opportunities as anyone else to be a parent and look after their own children.

"With the right support, people with a learning disability can be - and are - excellent parents, yet many fear that asking for help may be seen as an admission of failure which would result in their children being taken away."