A 14-year-old was forced to get pregnant because her mother was desperate for another child. The young girl was inseminated with syringes of donor sperm.
An American divorcee living in Britain was desperate for another child. She had three adopted children and was prevented from adopting a fourth, so she used one of her children by forcing her to get pregnant, The Guardian reports.
The woman got her oldest daughter, who was a virgin, to inseminate herself with syringes of sperm which she bought over the Internet. She purchased the donor sperm from the Denmark-based company, Cyros International.
The mother chose not to have children herself because of a health condition. She chose to become sterilized and later adopted children. She was denied approval for adopting another child after an anonymous acquaintance said she wasn't suitable enough to adopt another kid.
The case was heard in High Court on Monday. Judge Peter Jackson said there's "an abiding sense of disbelief that a parent could behave in such a wicked and selfish way towards a vulnerable child".
According to Jackson, the young girl, who had been identified as A, "became pregnant at the mother's request, using donor sperm bought by the mother, with the purpose of providing a fourth child for the mother to bring up as her own."
The girl said that she was initially shocked by her mother's request, but she though "If I do this ... maybe she will love me more." She was too scared to turn her mother's request down.
"My mum is a very determined person and she does her best not to let anything get in her way if she wants it," A said.
The mother of the girl even made her daughter douche herself with vinegar or lime and lemon juice to improve the chance of her having a baby girl.
According to the judge, the girl may have become pregnant, but she had a miscarriage. However that didn't stop the mother from trying again. She tried six more times with the online donor sperm. The girl gave birth to a baby boy in July 2011 at the age of 17. She had initially told healthcare workers that she got pregnant after spending the night with a boy who left her and went abroad.
Hospital midwives became concerned when A's mother was acting strangely. For instance, when the daughter wanted to breastfeed the baby, the mother said, "We don't want any of that attachment thing." The daughter acted reluctant when she gave the baby to her mother. Child protection officers were called when the mother tried to remove the baby from the ward.
Authorities were notified and the children were put in foster care. The mother is now spending five years in jail after being convicted of child cruelty.
The case was heard at the family division of the High Court when they were trying to determine the children's future. However the case wasn't reported until Monday after British news organizations, such as The Guardian newspaper, fought against reporting restrictions.
The details are now out but the identity of the family members cannot be revealed under court orders in order to protect the children involved.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
