Swapped babies to remain with families raising them

Source: sowetanlive, By Roxanne Henderson

Three judges of the Pretoria High Court decided on Monday that two toddlers swapped at birth must remain with the families who have raised them.

After hearing final arguments in the matter on Monday‚ the court ruled that the five-year-old boy and girl are  to be considered as having been adopted by the parents who have raised them without them needing to undergo a formal adoption process.

They will continue to have contact with their biological parents.

The children were swapped at a hospital on the East Rand in 2010 and the error was discovered nearly three years later when one father asked for a paternity test when the child’s mother claimed maintenance. The results revealed that neither of them were the biological parents of the little boy they thought was theirs.

Professor Ann Skelton of the Centre for Child Law at the University of Pretoria was appointed by the court to investigate and make recommendations on the outcome that would be in the best interests of the children. The court accepted Skelton’s recommendations.