The Fran Lyon Case
A young British woman, Fran Lyon, 22 years old, is pregnant and expecting the
delivery of her first child, a daughter who she has named Molly, in January
2008. Earlier this month Fran Lyon was
told her child would be taken from her at birth because social services in
Northumberland say she is likely to make up an illness or harm the child in
order to get attention. During her childhood she is said to have suffered a
personality disorder - for which she was successfully treated - but social
services officials still say she is likely to suffer from Munchausen’s Syndrome
by proxy, a very questionable condition invented by Paediatrician Roy Meadow,
according to whom mothers invent illnesses or harm their children for
attention.
A
series of articles in the Sunday Telegraph, The Mail, The Journal and Sky News,
August 26, 2007 --
By Jeanette Oldham
A PREGNANT woman who fled the Midlands after she was
told her baby would be taken away within minutes of its birth has had a healthy
girl. Terrified Fran Lyon, 22, went on the run because she feared doctors and
social workers suspected she might harm her daughter. Ms Lyon, originally from
Hexham, Northumberland, was brought to Birmingham in November by Yardley
Liberal Democrat MP John Hemming.
IC Birmingham, Jan 21 2008
A
pregnant woman who fled Britain after social services threatened to take away
her baby as soon as it was born has been told she can keep her child. Fran Lyon
fled to Europe last month to escape the ruling - but authorities have now
performed a u-turn and said she is actually safe to be a parent. The
22-year-old flew to the continent last month after Northumberland County
Council ruled that her child would be taken from her 10 minutes after birth.
The Daily Mail, December 28, 2007
*********
From the frying pan into the fire.
By Ruby Harrold-Claesson
Swedish
and Norwegian
media have been speculating that Fran Lyon has fled to Sweden. As president of
the NCHR and lawyer, I work inter alia with compulsory care cases. From my
professional experience I do hope for Fran Lyon's and her baby's sake that the
newspapers are wrong in their assumptions. Fleeing to Sweden, or any of the
Nordic countries for that matter, would be jumping from the frying pan into the
open fire.
So, if Fran Lyon is in Sweden, I recommend her to leave as fast as
possible. See for eg The
Edner Case, which tells a little about how Sweden has treated British
citizen Liz Edner and her British citizen child. And while you are at it, read
the other cases on the web site.
Comment sent to the Daily Mail, January 11, 2008
I've
fled the country to stop social workers taking my baby
She
is, on first impressions, just like any other first-time mother. The cot and
the pram are on order, she has bought more cuddly toys than she will ever need
and she has even given her little girl a name – Molly.
With
less than six weeks to go before the birth, the baby is kicking and it brings
Fran Lyon an undeniable thrill of pleasure. At least, it does now she finally
feels safe to enjoy it.
For all the innocent joys of impending motherhood have been denied Fran since social workers warned her four months ago that Molly would be taken away ten minutes after birth and placed with foster parents.
The Sunday Mail, November 24, 2007
Mother-to-be
flees as social workers warn her they will take her baby away at birth
By Paul Sims
A mother-to-be has fled her home after social workers threatened to take her
baby within minutes of the birth.
Fran
Lyon, 22, hopes a new local authority will take a different approach.
She
insists that the mental health problems she had as a teenager - she started
self-harming at 15 and has been treated at psychiatric hospitals for borderline
personality disorder - are now behind her and there is no evidence she will
harm her child.
The Daily Mail, 21st November 2007
Pregnant
woman’s ‘hounded out’ claim
A
PREGNANT woman last night said she had been “hounded out” of the region by
council bosses who plan to take her child from her within 15 minutes of its
birth.
Fran
Lyon yesterday left her home in St Hilda’s Road, Hexham, after receiving what
she described as a “horrific” birth plan for her child from Northumberland
County Council social services.
The Journal, November 10, 2007
Anxious
wait for verdict on baby
By Ben Guy
A MOTHER-to-be
was not allowed to attend the meeting that will decide the fate of her unborn
child because of council policy.
The
Journal, Sep 13, 2007
'I will fight threat to take
my baby'
A
YOUNG mum-to-be has vowed not to terminate her pregnancy and to fight to keep
the child social services want to take from her. Fran Lyon said the threat of
losing her unborn child had caused her to contemplate an abortion at an early
stage in her pregnancy, but she is now fully committed to fighting to keep the
baby.
The
Journal, Sep 08, 2007
My
baby will be taken from me the moment it's born
By Helen Weathers
The daughter of teachers and with a glittering
academic future, Fran was delighted when she became pregnant. But social
services discovered the illness she thought she'd put behind her - and will
confiscate her daughter when she is born...
Fran
Lyon is due to give birth to her first child - a daughter she has already named
Molly - on January 3. But the prospect, far from being one of joyous
anticipation, fills her with a dread that keeps her awake at night.
The Daily Mail, 6th September 2007
Secrecy
culture of social services
Dr
Rex Haigh, who had written a character reference for Fran Lyon, a 22-year-old
charity worker, said that a social worker was "clearly trying to
undermine" his support for Miss Lyon, who is five months pregnant. The Sunday Telegraph - 02/09/2007 Woman
Fights To Keep Unborn Baby A
pregnant woman has been told that her baby will be taken from her at birth
because of fears it will be subject to 'emotional abuse'. Despite
the recommendation by social services, some psychiatrists are backing
22-year-old Fran Lyon in her determination to prove that she is capable of
being a responsible mother. Woman
Fights To Keep Unborn Child (video) A
WOMAN fighting to stop her unborn baby being taken from her at birth is considering
having an abortion because she does not want her child to go into care. Fran
Lyon, 22, will have her baby daughter taken into care by social services unless
a judicial review can convince the authorities that she does not pose a risk of
causing the child emotional harm. The
Journal, Aug 27 2007 By David Harrison The
term is hugely controversial because it is vague, undefined in law, and leaves
room for many injustices. It is
used, however, to justify removing a growing number of children from their
parents, many of them at birth or in their first year. A
pregnant woman has been told that her baby will be taken from her at birth
because she is deemed capable of "emotional abuse", even though
psychiatrists treating her say there is no evidence to suggest that she will
harm her child in any way. Sunday Telegraph -
26/08/2007 Leader:
The unnatural justice of secret family courts The
Sunday Telegraph highlights today yet another case in which a mother has been threatened
with losing her baby to local authority care. The mother had not shown any sign
at all of harming her child, for her baby has not yet been born. The
local authority, however, is convinced that there is a possibility that she
might harm the child. Sunday Telegraph 26/08/2007 Fran and Molly Lyon's web
site By Ben Leapman and Andrew Alderson Family
courts are the B-side of the law Mother wins fight to get
her baby back Save a life - shoot a social worker Articles in Norwegian, Danish
and Swedish Av Unn Gyda Næss Av
Maja Skov Vang Av Diamant
Salihu och Robert Börjesson
Sky News, August 29, 2007
By
Jule Wilson
More
use of a vague reason to remove children
Fran Lyon is the latest parent to be told her baby will be taken away at birth
because social services believe she is capable of "emotionally
abusing" a child that has not yet been born.
Sunday Telegraph - 26/08/2007
Threat
to take new-born over emotional abuse
By
David Harrison
John Hemming's blog
Guilty
of child abuse! (Well, our version.)
By Camilla Cavendish
YouTube
Row over Social Services Baby Threat
By Ben Leapman
MP
bids to lift secrecy in family courts
The
Rank Hypocrisy of Family Court Judges
By Camilla Cavendish
Vil hun skade sitt
ufødte barn? Det tror britiske myndigheter. Nå har Fran (22) flyktet til
Sverige.
Gravid
22-årig flygter til Sverige. Myndighederne kræver hendes barn tvangsfjernet,
fordi de er overbeviste om, at hun vil skade sit eget barn
Höggravida
Fran jagas i Sverige
Forced Adoption
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