Use of word 'abandonment' in adoption laws causing 'unnecessary hurt', judge says

Judge said more sensitive wording should be used in such laws to describe parents whose child is adopted

Judge approved an application made regarding a teenage boy who wants to be adopted by the family who have cared for him since he was a very young child. Picture: Collins Courts

The use of the words such as "abandonment" in laws and legislation concerning adoptions is causing "unnecessary hurt and difficulties in many adoption proceedings," a High Court judge has said.

The remarks were made by Mr Justice Max Barrett in a judgment where he approved an application made regarding a teenage boy who wants to be adopted by the family who have cared for him since he was a very young child.