A fitted device was deemed to be in the woman’s best interests by the court (Picture: Getty Images/iStockphoto)

A judge has ruled that a woman with learning disabilities should be fitted with a contraceptive device against her will.

The woman, who is in her twenties, had given birth to several children who have been taken from her care and was due to give birth again soon, the court heard.

Specialists told Justice Gwynneth Knowles the woman had a number of physical health problems and that further pregnancies could put her at significant risk.

The woman said she would accept contraceptive injections lasting three months at a time but did not want to be fitted with a device.

Judge Gwynneth Knowles analysed what was said at the Court of Protection hearing (Picture: Avalon)

She told the judge: ‘It’s my body and it’s my life. I should have the choice on what I want.’

Doctors favoured the device due to concerns she would not turn up to appointments for injections.

The case was heard at the Court of Protection, which looks at issues relating to people who may lack the mental capacity to make decisions for themselves, with Justice Knowles’ ruling published today.

She concluded the woman did not have the mental capacity to make decisions about contraception and that the device was in her best interests.

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The device should be fitted when the woman undergoes a planned caesarean section operation, the judge said, adding that she cannot be named in media reports.

The case was brought on the request of the Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which is responsible for the woman’s care.

The hearing was conducted via Skype and the woman spoke to the judge from her home.

Five years ago the court ruled that a mother-of-six with an IQ of 70 should be sterilised for her own safety.

Doctors said the wall of her uterus was ’tissue-paper thin’ and likely to rupture in childbirth, almost certainly leading to the infant’s death.

In 2018 a judge ruled that a woman’s personal autonomy and human rights had been breached when she had been fitted with a similar device without her awareness on the order of another Court of Protection judge six years prior.

He concluded the device was in her best interests and that to inform her now would jeopardise her relationship with key carers.

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