The High Court yesterday ordered that a vulnerable teenager who gave birth last Saturday should stay in the maternity hospital pending court hearings. The hearings are to decide whether the infant should be taken into health board care.
Last Friday Mr Justice Kelly granted a temporary order directing that the unborn child should not be taken from the mother except in circumstances of medical emergency. That order was without prejudice to any order the District Court might make.
On Monday the District Court decided the baby should be taken into temporary care by the Northern Area Health Board. An appeal by lawyers for the 17year-old mother will be heard in the Circuit Court today.