Study: Shaken Baby Syndrome Diagnosis Lacks Scientific Evidence – Leads to False Accusations of Child Abuse

There has been an increase in recent years in the number of cases of Shaken Baby Syndrome and Abusive Head Trauma. Is this due to an increase in the number of child abusers, better recognition of the symptoms which leads to more accurate diagnoses, or is something else happening? Could it be that increased awareness of Shaken Baby Syndrome in the medical profession has led to overdiagnosis of abuse when there could be other explanations for the symptoms? If it is the latter, then there stands a good chance of innocent parents or caregivers being blamed, perhaps criminally, for something that they did not do. At Health Impact News we have covered many cases of parents who were arrested or lost their children to Child Protective Services after being accused of Shaken Baby Syndrome or abuse even though there are legitimate medical conditions accounting for the symptoms. In what is believed to be the first study of its kind, researchers in Sweden set out to examine this crucial question. They published their findings in the European Journal of Public Health on Tuesday, April 17, 2018: Infant abuse diagnosis associated with abusive head trauma criteria: incidence increase due to overdiagnosis? This study follows up Sweden's Council on Technology and Social Evaluation and their National Medical Ethics report in 2016 that concluded the science behind SBS is not credible.

“Mental Illness” Label Used to Medically Kidnap Mother and Try to Adopt Out Her Children

Tara Chapman, a 33 year old disabled mother, was handcuffed, drugged, and carted away to a facility that is 8 hours from her family. She is being held prisoner in Tennessee under the guise of mental illness, even though a mental hospital in Virginia recently said that she did not meet the criteria to commit her. The state of Tennessee wants Tara's three boys to stay in foster care, away from family. The family wants to know how far the state is willing to go to ensure that neither Tara nor her family gets her 3 children back? A fourth child, Tara's daughter, is being cared for by her mother Whitney, the children's grandmother, but the state refuses to allow the grandmother to care for the 3 boys. There was supposed to be a court hearing on Friday, April 13, 2018, but the juvenile court cancelled it without warning less than 24 hours before. Tara has suffered from mild mental illness for many years, but it was only after her children were seized by Child Protective Services and abused in foster care that her mental health deteriorated to the point where she qualified for disability. It would appear that the state of Tennessee is using her disability as an excuse to adopt out her children, even though her family is willing and able to care for the children.

Adults Medically Kidnapped: 3X More than Children in Foster Care – $50 BILLION in Assets Seized

Most of the stories that we cover at Medical Kidnap involve children who were taken from their families by Child Protective Services. However, medical kidnapping can happen to adults too. We have covered a number of stories of adults being taken by Adult Protective Services and being placed under the legal guardianship of strangers. Philly.com now reports that a woman who has been court-appointed as a guardian in at least 93 cases from 2015 to 2017 has a considerably criminal history of fraud, bad check writing, and forgery. Yet, Gloria Byars was the guardian recommended by the non-profit Philadelphia Corporation for Aging to oversee the lives and estates of many senior citizens in the Philadelphia area. Guardians in many states are not required to undergo background checks, and it is stunningly easy in some places for anyone to become a guardian. It is also stunningly easy for an unscrupulous person to allege that a person is "incapacitated" and in need of a guardian, even if it is not true. As reported by Philly.com: "Nationwide, guardians oversee an estimated 1.3 million adults and $50 billion of their assets, said Brenda Uekert, principal court research consultant at the National Center for State Courts." That means that [the] number of adults under guardianship care is roughly 3 times the number of children in foster care across the United States. According to the AFCARS report from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, there were 437,465 children in foster care in 2016.

Florida Mom Seeks 2nd Opinion on Dying Newborn After Car Accident – Loses Custody of All Three Children and Baby Dies in State Care

When an 8 month pregnant mother arrived at the hospital after a car accident, her baby was clearly in trouble. Doctors allegedly seemed to be more concerned about Johnna Furman's broken wrist than the emergency facing her unborn baby. Her baby needed to be born quickly, but the delay of a necessary c-section resulted in life threatening lack of oxygen to the baby in the womb. Baby Gabriel was born with brain damage and other serious medical conditions allegedly arising from this lack of oxygen. Throughout his first week and a half of life, doctors at the University of Florida Shands Hospital told Johnna that her baby would not survive. She refused to accept that answer. When she tried to transfer care of her baby to a local children's hospital for a second opinion, doctors from Shands Hospital reported her to Child Protective Services. While doctors blamed the mother, Johnna says that it was their medical malpractice that resulted in brain damage to her baby, ultimately leading to his death, and that the hospital is covering up what they did by blaming her. Child Protective Services seized her baby and her other 2 children 11 days after the car accident. Evidence that would have proven her innocence was not heard by the Florida judge, who is known for approving over 30,000 adoptions, and her parental rights were terminated less than a year later. She had another baby the following year, but Florida seized custody of that baby, too. In a video that Johnna recorded to talk about her case, she said: "My family's gone. I can never have another child. I don't understand how this is supposed to be the American dream, that justice doesn't matter. The truth doesn't matter."

The Corrupt Foster Care and Adoption System: Why Aren’t More Foster and Adoptive Parents Speaking Out?

For years now, Health Impact News, via their MedicalKidnap.com website, has exposed the child welfare system in the United States, which encompasses foster care and adoption services, as a child trafficking system. The data is very clear. A very small minority of children removed from their homes by child protective services (CPS) are removed because they live in "abusive" homes. The vast majority, anywhere from 75% to 85% or more, are removed for other reasons, usually under the umbrella term of "neglect." This would include "medical neglect" where one can lose custody of their children simply for disagreeing with a doctor, or seeking a second medical opinion. Based on large scale research studies conducted at MIT by Joseph Doyle in 2007 and 2008, the data also clearly shows that children in foster care fare far worse than even children left in "troubled homes," which begs the question as to why we even have a child welfare system that takes children out of families and makes them wards of the State. Since the evidence clearly shows that the child welfare system is thoroughly corrupt, causing far more harm to children than good, we pose the question: Why aren't more foster and adoptive parents speaking out against this corruption? If "good" foster and adoptive parents took a stand against corruption in Child Welfare, it could put a big dent in the system, if not take it down altogether. If you are a foster parent or adoptive parent that participates in this tyrannical, evil system that trafficks and murders children, you are part of the problem, not part of the solution, no matter what your motives or intentions are. Expecting a bloated government system funded by BILLIONS of dollars to change itself is unrealistic, and not much will happen to change the system until foster and adoptive parents, many of them being recruited by Christian churches, develop a conscience and a soul, and decide to take a stand against real child abuse which is happening every day here in the United States, through child welfare services.

Refusing to Vaccinate Your Kids is Not Abuse

Last fall, when an exhausted new mom wanted time to consider vaccinations for her newborn, the infant was taken from her by the on-call pediatrician at a Portland hospital, who claimed "medical negligence." A caseworker from the state Department of Human Services, without a judicial review, had the child removed and allowed the attending nurse to vaccinate the child "with whatever they wanted to give" against the parents' permission. This happened even though Oregon allows parents to opt out of vaccinations. The mother was allowed to see her baby only for the purpose of nursing her and then escorted out of the hospital by police. Throughout this illegal nightmare, a DHS caseworker falsified reports and placed numerous roadblocks in the way of this family wanting to parent their newborn. Despite this, many Oregon families came forward to help them. With the aid of attorneys who offered to represent the family pro bono, the case was dismissed, with DHS conceding the woman was an excellent mother.

Families Protest at Kansas State Capitol: “Our Children are not for Sale!”

The crowd of parents, advocates, and recently freed children say they have had enough. About 150 people braved freezing temperatures to march on the Kansas state capitol for the 3rd annual Fools No More rally on April 2, 2018. Event organizer Jennifer Winn, family advocate and former gubernatorial candidate, said: "This is about our children. All the aspects of this event are about issues that impact our children from DCF, parental rights, juvenile justice, medical cannabis; all these issues impact the lives of our children.... We are fighting for their future." Some of the most fervent marchers were children who were recently held captive in the Child Protective System, known as DCF in Kansas, and who are now reunited with their families. One such child, the 14 year old son of "Hunger Strike Dad" Raymond Schwab, was asked what he thought of what DCF did to him. There was no hint of hesitation on his part. He replied passionately: "Shut the system down!"

SC Family Reunited at Easter Almost 3 Years After Child Abuse Doctor Falsely Accused Mother

The Headleys were reunited this week, but it was a day they had begun to doubt would ever arrive. In July of 2015, Dr. Nancy Henderson-Hines of Greenville Memorial Hospital reportedly accused Danielle Headley of Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy. Based on her accusation, a family was kept apart for 2 years and 9 months. Children were placed into foster care where they suffered abuse, trauma, and even sodomy. A marriage was almost ripped apart. Reputations were destroyed. An innocent woman faced the possibility of spending 30 years in prison for a crime that didn't occur. It's over now. None of the doctors from Greenville Memorial Hospital, including Danielle's accuser Dr. Nancy Henderson-Hines, showed up at court on Monday, March 26, 2018. They were reportedly no longer willing to testify in Danielle Headley's criminal court case. Danielle told Health Impact News that her lawyer told her Monday that the prosecutor, known as a solicitor in South Carolina, said: "We are dropping everything. We don't have any evidence." Two years and nine months of trauma for Danielle, William, and their 4 sons, as well as grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends, is over. There was no evidence that she hurt her son. There never was.

Did Pennsylvania Mom Who Stood Up to Dental Bullying Uncover Massive Pediatric Dental Fraud Nationwide?

When a Pennsylvania mother posted a threatening letter on Facebook from her children's former dental practice, Smiles 4 Keeps, which threatened to report her to Child Protection Services if she did not keep a dental appointment for her child, a firestorm erupted. The Smiles 4 Keeps letter received by Trey Hoyumpa has ignited commentary from thousands of parents and patients across the nation telling their stories of dental abuse, bullying, and fraud at the hands of pediatric dentists. Health Impact News was the first to report the story in the media, and since then, mainstream media sources have also picked up on the story. Responses to the letter have been passionate and prolific, prompting coverage from local media in Pennsylvania to national media sources such as Yahoo News to national political commentator Michelle Malkin. Since publishing our original report, Health Impact News has done some more investigating into the practices of this particular Pennsylvania pediatric dental clinic, and its director Dr. Ross Wezmar, as well as pediatric dental practices nationwide. We have found that Department of Justice settlements for pediatric dental fraud cases are some of the largest fraud settlements in healthcare, especially in relation to billing medicaid for unnecessary child dental services. Dr. Wezmar seems to be a national leader in the Pediatric Dental field, and is actually listed as the "Dental consultant to Head Start, Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare," and "Chairperson AAPD Medicaid Committee," among other accolades tied into billions of dollars of federal funding. The bio on his Smiles 4 Keeps website also boasts that he is the: "Only east coast private practice chosen to participate in Harvard University Children’s Hospital Early Childhood Caries Program aimed at reducing early childhood decay." Harvard University Children's Hospital is better known as Boston Children's Hospital, infamous for its reputation for medically kidnapping children for medical research, as was exposed nationally with the Justina Pelletier medical kidnap case that gained national exposure. Could it be that the firestorm Pennsylvania mom Trey Hoyumpa unwittingly caused by publishing a letter received by Dr. Ross Wezmar's Smiles 4 Keeps pediatric dental clinic threatening to report her to Child Protection Services for failing to keep a dental appointment is the tip of the iceberg in nationwide pediatric dental fraud practices?

Child Protective Services in North Carolina using Blackmail to Illegally Seize Children from Families

Associated Press reporters recently exposed a story of illegal practices by Child Protective Services social workers in one North Carolina county. Social workers in Cherokee County have been reportedly coercing parents and taking their children illegally, bypassing the court system by threatening to adopt out their children or throw the parents in jail if they refused to sign paperwork known in NC as a CVA - Custody and Visitation Agreement. The same paperwork is known in other states as a "safety plan" or other such name. Richard Wexler of the National Coalition for Child Protection Reform (NCCPR) has another name for it - blackmail. Wexler authored an article in response to the AP expose' entitled, "Child welfare, foster care and civil liberties: When CPS resorts to blackmail." Where the AP article leaves room to believe that the actions in Cherokee County are a problem of corruption unique to one area, Wexler's opening salvo leaves no room for that impression: "Reporters in North Carolina exposed the practice of child welfare agencies blackmailing families into giving up all their rights and letting them take away children with no court review at all. The only thing unusual about this is that, in North Carolina, it’s illegal. Elsewhere it’s standard operating procedure."

Mom Stands Up to Dental Bullying When Dentist Threatens to Call CPS Over Missed Dental Appointment

Is Medical Kidnapping now spreading to the dental profession? Parents all over social media are in an uproar over a letter posted by a Pennsylvania mother from her children's dentist office. Smiles4Keeps Pediatric Dentistry sent a letter to a mother threatening to call Child Protective Services if she did not schedule a dental appointment for her child. The dental office staff has responded to the post and comments with a post of their own, defending their actions as being their legal obligation. Instead of quieting public fears, the response appears even more disturbing to parents, who are accusing the dental office of "bullying," and "blackmail." Are dentists to become "mandated reporters" simply because a parent chooses not to bring their children in for regular dental checkups every six months, or because parents may choose a different dental practice that is not approved by the current dental practice? Is this really grounds for Child Protection Services to come in and remove children from their families and start an investigation?

Steemit Group Raising Funds for “Family Protection” – Who Are They?

The "Fake News" wars are raging in full force these days, as the corporate-sponsored "mainstream" media fights to hang on to its influence in American culture, using the term "Fake News" to refer to anyone outside of their influence who publishes material contrary to their own agendas. They are exerting extreme pressure on social media giants such as Facebook and Google-owned YouTube, where the term "Fake News" is being used to censor content that they deem "fake" or "false." As a result, many are looking for alternative platforms to exchange the free-flow of information without centralized authoritarian censorship based on political views and ideology. A new kind of social media platform that was started in 2016 is Steemit, which is based on "blockchain" technology, the same technology used for cryptocurrencies, like Bitcoin. There are many advantages advertised for this new technology, and because it is "community-driven," it is seen by many as an alternative to current social media networks that are controlled from the top down, which can lead to censorship based on the political views of those who control the platform. Health Impact News recently joined Steemit, and we found a group that calls themselves "FamilyProtection" publishing stories and negative experiences with child social services such as we publish on our MedicalKidnap.com website. However, when we tried to learn more about this group, we were met with resistance. We asked some simple questions about who ran the group, because they are actively soliciting funds for "FamilyProtection" and have already collected donations exceeding $29K. Do you use Steemit?

Tennessee Family Seeks Lawsuit for Malpractice, Negligence, and Wrongful Death Over Down Syndrome Baby Taken Off of Life Support

A Tennessee family is crying out for justice. When doctors, social workers, and lawyers pushed last spring to have Baby Steffen taken off of life support, his family and their supporters pleaded for him to be given a chance to live. They could not understand why there was such a concerted effort to end Baby Steffen's life. It made no sense to them. Now, the results of a private autopsy are back, and the reasons seem crystal clear to the family. According to Baby Steffen's grandmother, Lisa Rivenburg: "It's open and shut malpractice, negligence, and wrongful death." They have suspected all along that somebody was covering something up. Now, they believe they have the evidence they need to pursue a lawsuit. They are in need of an attorney willing and able to take on the case.

Neuropathologist Doctor: I Believed in Shaken Baby Syndrome until Science Showed I was Wrong

Dr. Waney Squier is a renowned British pediatric neuropathologist and considered the UK's leading scientist in the field of pediatric neuropathology, and worked as a consultant at the John Radcliffe Hospital for 32 years. Until 16 years ago, she vehemently supported and adhered to the mainstream belief that when a medical professional suspects that an infant has been violently shaken, they must examine the baby for the “triad” of injuries believed to be associated with shaken baby syndrome (SBS). However, after examining the science behind SBS, Dr. Squier changed her opinion of SBS, and went from being a doctor who testified against parents and others who were accused of shaking their babies and injuring or killing them, to being a doctor who defended such parents and caregivers by offering other medical evidence that could explain such evidence apart from "shaking." As a result, her peers in the medical field attacked her, and in March of 2016 the UK General Medical Council (GMC) found Dr. Waney Squier guilty of “misleading her peers, being irresponsible, dishonest and bringing the reputation of the medical profession into disrepute” and she was "struck off the medical register" which prevented her from practicing medicine. However, over 350 doctors, scientists and lawyers rallied together in her support, and in an unprecedented move they sent a letter of protest to the British Medical Journal (BMJ), questioning the GMC’s decision. As a result, in October 2016, Dr. Waney Squier won her appeal and was reinstated. However, although Dr. Squier’s name was returned to the medical register, she has been prevented from giving evidence as an expert witness for another three years, which many believe was her punishment for standing up to the establishment. Dr. Waney Squier gave a TedX talk in November 2017 at Wadsworth, and it is now available on YouTube. In this TedX lecture, Dr. Squier speaks openly about the problems with SBS, and how thousands of parents are being wrongly accused of harming their babies.

Attorney Reporting in Newsweek: Foster Care is a System Set Up to Sex Traffic American Children

Attorney Michael Dolce, from the law-firm Cohen Milstein, recently wrote an opinion piece published by Newsweek stating that the nation's foster care system is set up to sexually traffic children. Dolce, who speaks from experience from representing children abused in foster care, writes: "Here’s the ugly truth: most Americans who are victims of sex trafficking come from our nation’s own foster care system. It’s a deeply broken system that leaves thousands vulnerable to pimps as children and grooms them for the illegal sex trade as young adults. We have failed our children by not fixing the systemic failures that have allowed this to happen for decades."

Alabama Newborn Baby Kidnapped at Hospital with No Warrant, No Court Order, No Emergency Circumstances

It should have been one of the happiest times in the young couple's life. It started out that way. Two weeks ago, on Monday, February 26, 2018, Chelsea Thomas, 18, gave birth to a beautiful, healthy baby boy in Birmingham, Alabama. Their first-born son was everything that she and her 19 year old fiance' Brian Stokes had hoped for. They immediately fell in love with their "sweet prince" who has daddy's nose and mommy's lips. Baby Kason was their whole world. Then, their world was shattered. At 3 pm the very next day, Chelsea had just breastfed her baby and he was asleep in her arms. A nurse came into the room and said she needed to take Baby Kason to the nursery "for an assessment." He never came back. Less than an hour after the nurse took their baby out of the room, Chelsea received a phone call from a lady with the Steps Ahead prenatal program telling her that she was required to notify the Department of Human Resources (DHR - Alabama's Child Protective Services) when the baby was born. She told them that DHR had taken custody of Baby Kason. He was in lockdown in the hospital nursery and the parents were not permitted to go near the nursery. There was no reason given. There was no warrant. No court order. No emergency circumstance. Nothing. Their baby had only been with them for little more than 24 hours. It turns out that, even though Chelsea is 18, Jefferson County DHR still legally has custody over her, because she is a former foster child. As such, it appears that they get to call the shots - up to and including taking her baby away from her.

Disabled Virginia Mom Arrested with No Warrant, No Charges Because Health Impact News Exposed her Story

Police have arrested a mother in Virginia. She was charged with no crime. There was no warrant. Tara Chapman, who has a mental health disability, was reportedly dragged out of the house, placed in handcuffs, and taken away in a police car yesterday, March 7, 2018. She was taken to a mental health facility where she was handcuffed to a hospital bed. Whitney Manning is her mother, and she has been fighting Tennessee's Child Protective Services for her daughter and grandchildren for several years. She is terrified for the very life of her daughter. Attorney Connie Reguli told Health Impact News that she believes that Tara's arrest was "all retaliation" for their story being exposed. She said that Tara was not a threat to herself or to anyone else. "She was TRULY medically kidnapped. They are treating her like a criminal. This is true abuse of the mentally ill." Tara Chapman had graduated with honors from college and had a teaching degree. The Tennessee Department of Children’s Services (DCS) became involved during a time when Tara was being abused by her sons' father. She had struggled with depression and bipolar disorder to some degree before that, but her children being taken literally drove her crazy. Now, after exposing her story to the public, a court has removed her mother as her guardian and placed under the custody of the State, and her family does not even know where she is located.

Disabled Parents Losing Right to Parent their Own Children in America while Foster Parent Recruitment Seeks “Imperfect Parents”

Parents with disabilities face challenges in raising their children. One challenge that many may not have expected, however, is the right simply to BE a parent. A recent article by the Pacific Standard describes the "uphill battle" that parents with disabilities face to keep their own children. The statistics cited are alarming: "Research indicates that parents with disabilities and their families are overrepresented in the child welfare system. While parents with disabilities make up only 6.2 percent of all parents in the United States, a recent study found that 19 percent of children in foster care have a parent with a disability." According to data from the Child Maltreatment report for 2016 from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, only about 25% of the children coming into the system are taken for reasons of physical or sexual abuse. Most children placed into the foster care system were not abused. Nationally, only 17.2% of the allegations against parents are even substantiated. Yet, disabled parents are losing their children at a higher rate than the general public. Sometimes, their disability is the sole reason for their children being taken from them. What is worse is that they are less likely to get their children back once the state takes them. All of this violates the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The Ad Council slogan, "You don't have to be perfect to be a perfect parent" is aimed at potential foster and adoptive parents, but it is a slap in the face to real parents who are told by the state that they cannot parent their children because they are less than perfect.

Healthy Boston Woman is Medically Kidnapped and Forced onto Pysch Drugs Resulting in her Death

Another Boston area woman's life has been cut short after elder "protective" services and guardians became involved. The story of Alice Julian's medical kidnapping is shocking and horrifying in that it shows the almost omnipotent power of the state to override the decisions made by a citizen in preparation for their latter years. Alice Julian had a strong will to live. She was described as an "exceptionally healthy" 89 year old woman before being seized and drugged against her will. Her daughter Pamela Julian fought valiantly to save her life, but the strength of a group of Guardians, lawyers, and Jewish Family and Children's Services proved to be too great a hurdle to overcome. She died on the morning of January 9, 2018.

Pediatric Doctor Pleads Guilty to Illegally Targeting Teens for Cholesterol Drug Trials

A Pediatric Cardiologist from Georgia has pleaded guilty to illegally targeting teens for a cholesterol drug that was only approved by the FDA for a rare disorder. According to court documents, Dr. Eduardo Montaña colluded with pharmaceutical company Aegerion to sell their drug Juxtapid to teenagers with heart problems, even though the drug was not approved for their conditions. Dr. Montaña violated HIPAA laws of patient privacy by supplying the pharmaceutical company private medical records of 280 teenagers without patient knowledge or consent. Drug company Aegerion was found guilty of criminal wrongdoing in a Massachusetts court. Juxtapid, which received FDA approval in 2012, costs over $330,000 per patient per year, so the drug company had strong financial motives to expand its sales. Dr. Montaña was a willing accomplice in their criminal activities, and reportedly hoped to get a kickback for himself. He requested a $236,000 grant from Aegerion. In the conviction against Aegerion in this case with Dr. Eduardo Montaña, District Judge William G. Young lamented how the U.S. Government allows criminal pharmaceutical companies to get off so easily, and continue doing business. Existing laws that protect pharmaceutical companies apparently prevented Judge Young from automatically issuing the harshest penalty, as the federal government generally strikes a plea bargain deal with the pharmaceutical company to keep them in business. Judge Young wrote: "What is left unexplained is why the government does not simply let Aegerion collapse in disgrace. Surely Aegerion is not too big to fail."