Justina Pelletier and Medical Kidnapping 4 Years Later – Has Anything Changed?

It has been more than 4 years since the most infamous case of medical kidnapping in the United States occurred when the state of Massachusetts, together with Boston Children's Hospital, seized custody of then 14-year-old Justina Pelletier over a medical disagreement. The story exploded across mainstream and international media after her father Lou Pelletier courageously defied an unconstitutional gag order and risked prison to tell his family's story. With heavy hitters in the national media like Glenn Beck, Mike Huckabee and Dr. Phil giving them exposure, as well as an army of advocates by their side, it still took 16 months to get their daughter home. Justina, to this day, still suffers physical, mental, and emotional trauma from all that happened to her during her captivity. At the time, most of the public thought this story was an anomaly - an egregious abuse of power by an out-of-control hospital and bureaucracy that was stunning in its tyrannical reach, but still the exception to the rule. Few ever dreamed in their wildest nightmare that this was common, everyday practice all over the United States and other countries. Silence and shame surrounded the families to which this kind of thing happened, and it may well be that the explosion of stories that have come out in the years since then may be attributed to Lou Pelletier's boldness in speaking out, opening the floodgates for others to come out of the shadows and speak up. What have we learned since then? Has anything changed?

California Mom Fights to Get Child Back Removed from Hospital at Birth

Excerpts: Eight years ago, Melinda Garrett was induced into labor a month and a half before her due date. To Melinda, the baby represented a new beginning, a way to right all the wrongs and trauma and abuse she herself had endured as the survivor of childhood sexual and physical abuse, sex trafficking and a previously stillborn birth. She swore to break the cycle of abuse and to give everything she never had as a child to her newborn baby. She was never given that chance. Shortly after Melinda finished successfully breastfeeding the baby for the very first time, CPS removed the newborn from her custody. She never left the hospital with her baby.

Arizona CPS Uses Police-State Tactics to Kidnap Safe Children

Arizona Department of Child Safety (DCS), under fire for its skyrocketing rate of child removals in recent years, was just exposed for a new policy which allowed social workers to secretly record interviews with parents or caregivers suspected of crimes using a controversial and questionable technology meant to detect lying. The Computer Voice Stress Analyzer (CVSA), which a DCS spokesperson labeled a “new tool,” isn’t really new at all, and appears to have almost zero validity. One independent study found the lie detector was "no better than flipping a coin." The CVSA policy had only been recently implemented late last December. Gregg Woodnick, a Phoenix family law attorney whose practice defends families against DCS charges, unearthed the new policy and after confronting DCS legal counsel, notified local TV station 12 News. Woodnick said DCS was effectively performing polygraphs on people without their consent. After 12 News notified Arizona’s DCS they were doing a story on the secret recordings, an agency spokeswoman, Cynthia Weiss, said the policy was being "rescinded." The covert audio story, which broke March 20, ran a week after Health Impact News/Medical Kidnap interviewed Woodnick to discuss the state of Arizona’s DCS.

Massachusetts Senior Citizen and Attorney Medically Kidnapped – Estate Plundered – Represents National Epidemic

Retired lawyer Marvin Siegel of Boxford, Massachusetts, has lived an isolated and heavily-medicated existence, against his will and wishes, after court proceedings in August in 2011 resulted in his being placed under a court-appointed guardianship and conservatorship that his family considers to be unlawful. His meticulous estate planning has been eviscerated, and millions of dollars continue to be plundered from the 88-year-old’s estate. He is being held prisoner in his own home, under medical providers that his daughter has termed "24/7 guards." Meanwhile, his daughters Attorney Lisa Siegel Belanger and Devora Kaiser tirelessly advocate for him in the court system, despite those who are working vigorously to shut them out of their father’s life. At this point, those in charge of Mr. Siegel’s estate have drained half of the retired attorney’s approximate nine-million-dollar estate deceptively and fraudulently, according to Lisa. Further, as Lisa began to research her father’s case, she uncovered a network of corruption within the family and probate court system of Essex County, where the case is, as well as in other Massachusetts counties. The daughters’ court documents allege fraud, embezzlement, and money laundering, involving 40 litigants in the Siegel case alone. Lisa states that the medical kidnapping and plundering of senior citizens' estates is common, as they target poor and rich alike: "The scary part of it is that this is not an isolated incident. This is business as usual. It is a pattern of isolate. Medicate. Liquidate. It doesn’t matter the amount of a person’s estate, even if a person has virtually nothing to their name. The fact that an elder is receiving some sort of government benefit that automatically brings you into their clutches. People don’t realize that it affects basically everyone."

Microbiome Online Summit to Explore how Microbiome Orchestrates, Regulates and Heals Your Body

Your greatest ally in health is your microbiome — the trillions of bacteria that are the control center of your health! During the online Microbiome Summit from May 8th through May 15th, you will learn the lessons and methodologies of microbiome medicine, and how it could improve your health, longevity, vitality and assist with unresolved problems! The Microbiome Medicine Summit will explore how the microbiome orchestrates, regulates and can heal your body. It reveals the latest discoveries about a wide variety of health problems, and how the microbiome can help you heal at a deep level.

Arizona DCF Tries to Stifle Free Speech in Medical Kidnapping Case – Demands Our Stories of Coumpy Family be Taken Down

At the same time that Arizona lawmakers have rejected common sense bills to protect families from abuse of power by dishonest social workers, an Arizona mother is battling the Arizona Department of Children and Families (DCF) to get her children back. Aprilli Coumpy has completed everything asked of her, but her children are still not back home. It has been more than 2 years since her children were seized after what both Aprilli and her pediatrician termed an accidental incident, in which her toddler was burned when his 6 and 7 year old siblings accidentally spilled hot noodles on him when they decided to surprise their mommy with breakfast. Never in a million years did the single mom of 5 dream that the state could have so much power as to take all of her children away for something that could happen in any home in the world. Others connected with her case believe that the DCF case manager, Lisa Millett, simply does not like Aprilli Coumpy, thus nothing that the mother does appears to be good enough. Recently, Arizona DCF case manager Lisa Millett has demanded that Aprilli take down the Medical Kidnap articles from the internet. Apparently Ms. Millett does not understand that Freedom of the Press doesn't work like that. Such strong arm tactics by government employees may have been used in Nazi Germany or in Communist countries that desire to hide their actions from the public, but the U.S. still has something called The Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. Parents don't publish the articles on MedicalKidnap.com, and they cannot take them down. Health Impact News interviews parents and publishes their stories under the protections of the 1st Amendment Freedom of the Press. We will, however, publish a copy of the email that we have received.

Arizona: Battleground for State-sponsored Child Kidnappings – Highest in the Nation

A fight is raging across Arizona – parents, foster parents, activists, lawyers and even the Arizona Republic are refusing to back down against the state’s apathetic resistance to real, meaningful solutions for its outrageous record as the top state in the nation for child removals. Arizona has taken children out of their homes at a rate far higher than any other state in the country. And Phoenix (Maricopa county) ranks as the city with the highest rate of child removals by CPS – higher than New York, L.A., or any other major U.S. city. The state’s shameful record goes back a decade or more, and frequently opposition has been disconnected or silenced. More and more families have been destroyed, children lost, and lives broken. But no more – activists, legislators and local media are gaining strength and momentum.

Last Chance! FREE Replay Weekend for Truth About Vaccines Docuseries

The 7-part documentary, The Truth About Vaccines, was a huge success. Hundreds of thousands of people tuned in to hear an all-star lineup of doctors, scientists, and other health experts discuss the truth about vaccines that the U.S. government and the pharmaceutical funded mainstream media refuse to cover. This weekend, on Saturday, April 22nd, and Sunday, April 23rd, the entire documentary will be re-broadcast for FREE online viewing! The documentary producers and hosts, Ty and Charlene Bollinger, will also be hosting a Q&A session throughout the weekend addressing many of the questions that have come in during the series.

Arizona Lawmakers Block Bill To Protect Parents From Dishonest Child Protection Social Workers

House Republicans beat back an effort by Rep. Kelly Townsend to protect Arizona’s parents’ constitutional rights by amending SB1003. Townsend’s amendments would have prohibited Department of Child Safety caseworkers from lying to the court or withholding exculpatory evidence. Townsend asked her fellow lawmakers how they could oppose the amendments as they appeared to be preoccupied with their laptops and cellphones. The principles behind Townsend’s amendments were clear; parents have a right to due process and social workers cannot lie to parents.

Baby’s Health Rapidly Declines After Receiving 13 Vaccines at One Time – Mom Accused of Abuse for Disagreeing with Doctors

A young Georgia mother had no idea that a routine trip to the pediatrician's office for her son's 1 year check-up would change her son's life forever, and leave her fighting the state for custody of her own son. When the nurse-practitioner told her that her son was a little behind on his shots and they would need to catch up, Durenda Whitehead didn't question the need for the vaccines. She did, however, question the safety of giving 13 vaccines at once. Durenda's pediatrician assured her that it was fine: "I can give up to 20 at one time." She said that they told her at the pediatrician's office to give him some Tylenol, and to "play extra hard with him when he gets home." Over the next few days, Durenda reports that KJ was sleeping much more than usual, only waking to eat. She describes his rapid decline: "I noticed my son didn't attempt to follow me as usual and he started to cry. I called his name so he would come to me, but his cry only got louder. When I came back in the room to see why he wasn't coming, he leaned his body forward and reached for me... He had this 'help me' look in his eyes while he continued to cry." However, Durenda soon learned that doctors are reluctant to look at vaccines as a cause of harm, and she soon found herself in the hospital being confronted with law enforcement taking away her son because she dared to disagree with a doctor.