A WOMAN with a low IQ could be forcibly sterilised for her own good, a British judge has ruled.

A Court of Protection judgment in the UK approved a request by social services and health authority officials to ‘force entry’ into the woman’s home and use ‘necessary restraint’ to take her to hospital for the procedure.

The woman, who has autistic spectrum disorder and a ‘mild to borderline’ learning disability, has an IQ of 70.

She has a history of concealing her pregnancies and two of her children have been born at home in ‘grossly unhygienic circumstances’, the court heard.

The 36-year-old, who cannot be named, had an ‘extraordinary, tragic, and complex obstetric history’ and that she could ‘pay for [a future] pregnancy with her life’.

During one secret birth, her partner is believed to have used barbecue tongs as forceps, causing cuts to the baby’s head.

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Her partner, whom she has been with since 2008, is the father of five of her children.

He has a ‘significant’ learning disability and an IQ of 62.

Mr Justice Cobb insisted the ‘exceptional case’ was ‘not about eugenics’.

In a written ruling, thought to be the first judgment of its kind in England, he added:

‘This outcome has been driven by the bleak yet undisputed evidence that a further pregnancy would be a significantly life-threatening event for [her].

‘Experts strongly recommend this treatment, jointly expressing themselves in these stark terms: “The risk to [the woman] of a future pregnancy ... is highly likely to lead to her death”.’

Last year, Justice Cobb ruled the woman could be sedated and her sixth baby delivered by caesarean section after local authorities applied to the courts to intervene.

She had experienced complications during previous pregnancies including fits, a stroke, infections, a prolapsed bladder, severe haemorrhaging, her baby being in the breech position and premature birth.

Doctors said her uterus is ‘tissue-paper thin’ and could rupture if she becomes pregnant again.

All six of her children, aged between six months and 12 years, have been taken into care, with five formally adopted.

Neither the woman nor her partner have shown interest in their existing children.

The court was told how the woman’s autism means she is unable to appreciate the risks she faces in pregnancy, and that her behaviour worsened after a stroke in 2011.

She has also exhibited ‘delusional beliefs’ after two of her births, such as insisting a well-known actor and opera singer were her parents and that she was kidnapped as a child.

The woman has insisted she is ‘normal’ and wants to be ‘left alone’, telling her own solicitor to ‘back off’, the court was told.

Mr Justice Cobb declared that she lacked the mental capacity to make decisions regarding contraception.

He ruled authorities could take ‘necessary and proportionate steps’ to remove her from her home and take her to be sterilised.