In the best interest of the child

Have you read about the mother in Washington State who was jailed for kidnapping in a dispute with doctors over her son’s medical treatment?

Tina Marie Carlsen refused to allow surgeons to implant a catheter into her 9-month-old son for use in future kidney dialysis. Carlsen, who has been breastfeeding, eating an organic diet (for healthier breast-milk production), and using cloth diapers, was seeking alternative holistic treatments for her son’s kidney problems. The doctor disagreed and baby Riley was placed in State’s custody due to “medical neglect,” despite the fact that the child was “not in imminent danger of death.” When the courts refused to stop the surgery, Carlsen took the baby from the hospital. Since he was in State’s custody at the time, she was arrested and jailed for five days and now faces a charge of second-degree domestic violence kidnapping.

This case is disturbing from many angles. First and most obvious, it illustrates the lengths to which the government has usurped our rights as parents to make the best decisions for our children. This was not a negligent mother. She took great care to provide the best healthy environment for her son, even using glass bottles so the nutrients of the milk would not cling to the side of the bottle.

What right does the State have to step in and take over the parent’s role when the child is not being abused? How far will the government take this? They already control educational decisions, apparently they control medical decisions; what will they control next? Maybe they will follow the UK and start tracking whether or not a child eats five servings of vegetables a day.

Another disturbing thing about this mess is that the government has clearly labeled alternative medicine as “medical neglect.” Does that mean anytime a parent seeks alternative care for a child, it is neglectful? How far do we take that? Will I be jailed if I give my child Echinacea for a cold instead of Tylenol Cold and Flu?

I knew this man who was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer – a certain death sentence – and given 6 months to live. His daughter researched alternative therapies and began giving him an herbal course of treatment. He lived for three more years. Perhaps they should lock her up for elder abuse.

Once we decide to let the State decide what is best for our children, we limit their options to what is considered acceptable by the establishment. Any family that lives outside the norm-du-jour will be open to charges of neglect.

This is exactly why I am rapidly descending into libertarianism. The government needs to stay out of our lives. Period.

Funny, I said this very thing to a certain political candidate that I met at the blogger barbeque/hamburger summit yesterday (I’ll post about that event later) and his response was “how do we keep the corporations out of our lives”? Cute, but off the mark completely. I have never seen a corporation come in and take a child away from a mother (and throw the mother in jail) because she wouldn’t buy their products.

You can read more about this story at the website Help Baby Riley. The sidebar contains links to news articles about this situation.