A Spanish doctor has been ordered to pay child support after a failed abortion. A court in Palma de Mallorca ordered the unnamed doctor to pay nearly €1,000 (US$1,240) per month in upkeep for the healthy child until he reaches the age of 25. "There has never been a case like this before in Spain," said Eva Munar, the lawyer for the 24-year-old mother. "We don't know if it has ever happened anywhere else in the world."

The boy was born in October 2010, 6 months after his mother sought an abortion at the city's Emece clinic. The mother was almost 7 weeks pregnant when the abortion was performed. The doctor told her 2 weeks later that a scan showed she was no longer pregnant. In his sentence, Judge Francisco Pérez said the doctor essentially paid no attention to the scan.

The boy is healthy, but the mother is being supported by her parents. The court awarded her €150,000 (US$186,000), and ordered the doctor to pay her a monthly stipend of €978 for 25 years, or a further €293,000. The doctor's lawyers will appeal. ~ Guardian, May 25