The parents of two children swapped at birth will be allowed to continue raising them as their own even though they are not the biological parents.
The Pretoria High Court ruled yesterday that the five-year-old boy and girl will be considered to have been adopted by their “psychological parents”.
The children were swapped at birth in the Tambo Memorial Hospital in Boksburg in August 2010.
The mistake was discovered almost three years later when the mother raising the boy claimed maintenance and the father asked for a paternity test. The results revealed that they were not the child’s biological parents.
A probe revealed that a midwife dealing with both births on that “busy” day, mixed up either the babies’ files or their name tags.
Three presiding judges decided the children will have contact with their biological families.
The judges said they would provide full reasons for their decision at a later stage. — hendersonr@timesmedia.co.za
Swapped toddlers stay with ‘psychological parents’
The Pretoria High Court ruled yesterday that the five-year-old boy and girl will be considered to have been adopted by their “psychological parents”.
The children were swapped at birth in the Tambo Memorial Hospital in Boksburg in August 2010.
The mistake was discovered almost three years later when the mother raising the boy claimed maintenance and the father asked for a paternity test. The results revealed that they were not the child’s biological parents.
A probe revealed that a midwife dealing with both births on that “busy” day, mixed up either the babies’ files or their name tags.
Three presiding judges decided the children will have contact with their biological families.
The judges said they would provide full reasons for their decision at a later stage. — hendersonr@timesmedia.co.za
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