Parental Rights

A parent should be able to make decisions about healthcare and treatment for their children. Should I even have to reiterate that? Apparently so.

A friend of mine recently had a baby. This baby, S, was slightly jaundiced. The pediatrician on call ordered the baby to have phototherapy and mom and dad said no. They did not believe, and rightly, that the baby's condition warranted that. There are side effects to phototherapy and it would interrupt breastfeeding. The baby was in no imminent danger. So a social worker speaks to mom in the hospital and tells her that refusing the treatment is neglect.

Thankfully, mom stood her ground and fired back at them with the AAP's recommendation that phototherapy wasn't indicated for S. She was told that as long as they took S to the follow up the next day CPS would not be involved and she was free to leave the hospital with S.

Well, two days after being home, and making the follow up appointment for S, CPS shows up at her door!

I have heard about and seen so many cases like the above where some do-gooder called CPS on parents over nothing. Simply because they parent differently, or they had a bad day. What makes me so angry is that CPS harasses innocent parents and then lets others go when there were so many serious warning signs and kids end up dead.

It is truly frightening to me as a parent to see how much power government organizations have when it comes to my children. CPS can force their way into my house and forcibly remove my children without any evidence other than an anonymous 'tip'. The burden of proof rests on the parent, and not the state as it should. Innocent until proven guilty and all that. That is out the window though.

Why is it that total strangers think that they care more for children than the children's parents do? Why do these busybodies sic the state on anyone who makes parenting decisions that are different from the ones they would make? Why does the state believe that it owns our children? Why do we let the state get away with this?

http://www.parentalrights.org/