Aga Khan University Hospital has been ordered to finance the upbringing of a child who was conceived after a long-term contraceptive implant on her mother failed. The High Court directed the hospital’s family planning clinic to pay the woman Ksh4.3 million to cater for the unplanned child.
Justice Hatari Waweru ordered the hospital to pay the woman a further Ksh500,000 for pain and loss of her comfort. “This sum (Ksh4.3 million), if wisely invested, should bring in an annual income that will go a long way in maintaining and educating the child without the necessity of delving into the principal sum,” Justice Waweru ruled.
The court heard that the mother of three visited the clinic for a long-term birth control as she did not want to have more children. The woman said the reason she did not want a third child was because she and her husband were already struggling to bring up their two children.
She told the court that on July 4, 2011, the hospital advised her that implanon was the most appropriate contraceptive method for her. Implanon is a flexible plastic rod about the size of a matchstick that contains a progestin hormone called etonogestre. It is inserted just under the skin of the inner side of the upper arm.
The court also heard that after going through the medical procedure, she was assured that it would be safe to have sex with her husband without using protection. She was assured that the implant would secure her from pregnancy for at least three years.
But she soon had the shock of her life after her periods failed. She did a home pregnancy test and confirmed that that she, indeed, was pregnant. She rushed to the same hospital, which also confirmed she was pregnant. Other tests confirmed that the contraceptive had been implanted in her arm.
(BIZNA.CO.KE)
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