By now the press are reporting widely the case of Alas Al-Wray (FD10C00445 LB of Islington v Al Alas and Wray Approved Judgment 19 April 2012). Not many other than lawyers will have the fortitude to get all the way through the judgment, which is extremely lengthy and medically technical. But it is a shocking and very sad story and it is hard to imagine the awful ordeal that these two young parents have had to endure. I briefly saw a BBC interview with them, and they were dignified and brave. I hope very much that they are offered support to integrate their daughter into their family at long last.
I was struck though by a commentary piece by Camilla Cavendish in yesterday’s Times in which Ms Cavendish suggests that this is a case demonstrating how things have gone wrong. Yes, this is a case where things have gone terribly wrong from the perspective of the parents and the child concerned. But is it a case which demonstrates how the system has gone wrong?