Recording Surfaces of Illinois Department of Health Planning to Medically Kidnap Newborns from Parents Who Refuse Vitamin K Shot at Birth

Earlier this year (2019) the Chicago Tribune reported on a federal lawsuit where parents sued several doctors at three hospitals and DCFS for medically kidnapping their newborn infants simply for refusing the Vitamin K shot at birth. Megan Fox, writing for PJ Media, has published a recording from an April 12, 2018 meeting of the Perinatal Advisory Committee (PAC) that operates under the Illinois Department of Public Health. In the recording, health officials that apparently include doctors and possibly nurses who are authorized to give the Vitamin K shot to newborns, discuss how they can work together with the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) to take custody of newborn babies from parents who refuse the Vitamin K shot at birth. The members of the Health Department basically conclude that since it is DCFS policy to mandate the Vitamin K shot, that medical professionals have the authority to take custody of the child and administer the Vitamin K shot over the objections of the parents, even without DCFS involvement. Such "custody" can be as little as only "2 minutes," the time it takes to give the shot. So basically Illinois Health Department officials decided in a meeting that they had authority to take a child away from the parents, without DCFS involvement, without parental approval, and with no court or judge's order to take custody, and forcibly inject the newborn child with the Vitamin K shot.

Illinois Parents Sue Doctors, Hospitals, and DCFS for Medical Kidnapping After Refusing Vitamin K Shot at Birth

In the moments after Angela Bougher gave birth last winter, she and her husband, a suburban Chicago pastor, were eager to hold their new baby girl. But as Bougher was being treated in the delivery room, the couple contends, a nurse picked up the infant to administer a vitamin K shot, a common practice in maternity wards across the country to help a baby’s blood-clotting ability in case of emergency. The Boughers said they are not “anti-vaxxers” or against any procedure they believe to be medically necessary, but they didn’t think the shot was in that category. They had agreed to sign a waiver confirming their wishes that the new baby — their fifth child — not receive vitamin K, based on their beliefs that God’s creation isn’t automatically deficient or flawed at birth. But instead of offering them a form, the Boughers allege, the nurse announced she was reporting the couple to the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services and left the room with the newborn. On Monday, the Boughers and several other parents filed a sweeping federal lawsuit accusing the agency, its current and former leaders, a number of doctors and three hospitals of violating their constitutional rights just after the births of their children.

The Next Mandatory Vaccine Battleground: Homeschool Children

As we have frequently reported here at Health Impact News, legislative efforts are underway in many states to remove parental choice for childhood vaccines, with new proposed bills removing religious and philosophical exemptions to childhood vaccines which are mandated as a requirement for school attendance. In general, the public is opposed to removing parental consent to vaccines, and most bills seeking to remove parental authority have been met with stiff opposition and been defeated at the state level. One bill that was successful, was SB277 which was passed in California in 2015 removing the religious and philosophical exemptions to vaccines. Today, the only option parents in California have to get an exemption to vaccines as a requirement for school attendance, is to get their doctor to sign a medical exemption. However, the pro-pharmaceutical lobby in California has not been satisfied with the results of SB277, and are now going after doctors who write medical exemptions for vaccines. Most doctors in California now fear writing medical exemptions to vaccines as they would risk losing their license to practice medicine in California. Parents who now want to protect their children from the dangers of the CDC vaccine schedule, either by refusing certain vaccines or following a different vaccine schedule, are left with almost no options. As a result, many parents are choosing to homeschool their children to escape the mandatory vaccine mandates. It should come as no surprise, therefore, that the vaccine extremists, who believe that ALL vaccines are safe for ALL children ALL the time, by force if necessary, are now targeting homeschool children. Several states are proposing new laws that would require homeschool families to allow government-represented medical professionals to come into their homes to approve them as home schools, including checking the children's medical records to ensure they are following the CDC vaccine schedule.

Local Media in Peoria Illinois Exposes Medical Kidnapping of Young Child Due to Child Abuse Specialist

A recent 2-part Special Report by 25 News in Peoria, Illinois, examines the issue of innocent parents, who are falsely accused by doctors, whose children are medically kidnapped. Reporter Caitlin Knute says that one local hospital, OSF St. Francis, sees about 20 cases a month of child abuse, which also includes "neglect" cases as well. Reporter Tyler Lopez asks the question that Health Impact News has been asking even before our Medical Kidnap division was established in 2014: "But what if some of those abuse cases were misdiagnosed or the result of a medical condition?" When that happens, there is often no liberty or justice for these families. The 25 News report starts with the story of Baby Chandler, a story that follows the template of dozens of other stories that we have covered here at Health Impact News involving a child with broken bones who actually had a medical condition causing his bone fragility. Dr. Channing Petrak, Child Abuse Pediatrician, accused the parents of abuse, and he was taken from his mother by Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS).

After Trip to Emergency Room Illinois Couple has all 4 Children Medically Kidnapped

Like many Americans, Mary Sweeney and Cedric Roberts believed that Child Protective Services was made up of "the good guys," the ones who protect children from bad parents who abuse their children. They didn't realize that a trip to the emergency room puts normal, loving parents at risk of losing their children. Mary wanted to make sure that everything was fine after a simple accidental injury, but the trip to the ER resulted in all 4 of their children being taken from them. It could have happened to anyone. The suburban Chicago couple spent the summer without their children, including infant twins, because a Child Abuse Pediatrician in another state has accused them of abusing one of their babies. The doctor never saw the baby in person. A fracture the doctor diagnosed ended up being a glare on her screen. There was no fracture. It was a mistake. Even so, Illinois Department of Child and Family Services (DCFS) has not returned the children to their parents.

2 Years After Isaiah Rider Medically Kidnapped: “They Destroyed Our Whole World”

It has been almost 2 years since Isaiah Rider was released from Illinois DCFS custody after being medically kidnapped. Like many families who are reunited after the trauma of dealing with Child Protective Services, Isaiah and his mother, warrior-advocate Michelle Rider, largely withdrew from social media and the public eye. The horrors they had experienced took a toll and they have needed time to heal. They recently shared their story with a reporter from KWIR, a publication whose audience is largely LGBT. Michelle Rider says that she wants their story to be told as a warning for parents. Reporter Gretchen Rachel Hammond writes: "Although not LGBT themselves, Michelle and Isaiah fear for both gay and straight couples who take a child to a hospital like Lurie for help and suddenly find themselves catapulted into a hell they could never have imagined." In the opening of the series, Hammond makes this statement: "As an increasing number of LGBT couples choose to adopt, the story of one of the most disturbing and bizarre cases of DCFS removing a child after hospital doctors claim Medical Child Abuse serves as a warning." The public may not be aware that the LGBT community contributes to the demand for children to adopt. The Rider article series by KWIR serves as a cautionary tale that the children offered up for adoption to LGBT couples, and to anyone else seeking to adopt, are not always "poor abused children in need of a forever home." Adoptive and foster parents are not always told the truth about the children who are placed with them. Far more often than not, the children were taken from families who love them, who never abused them, and who have been falsely accused of hurting their children. Social worker whistleblowers have told us that they are encouraged to seize children who are "adoptable." Adults wishing to adopt children increase the demand, whether they are LGBT couples unable to conceive on their own, infertile couples, couples with good intentions who want to help children, Christian and religious families seeking to care for "the needy and the orphan," or even pedophiles. No matter the motive, whether good or bad, each serves to create the demand for children. As that demand increases, more children are being taken from innocent families in order to supply the commodities (children) to meet the demand. It is simple economics.

Chicago Boy Medically Kidnapped for 20 Months Back Home – Family Strives to Overcome Trauma

It has been two years since "Baby Malik" was returned to his family. It has been a long journey of helping him to overcome the harm from being taken by Child Protective Services and Lurie Children's Hospital in Chicago, but his grandmother Lakisha Tanna says that they can finally "function like a normal family again." Malik just started K-5 kindergarten. He is doing well now, but that didn't happen overnight. He was out of his family's custody for 1 year, 8 months, and a day. All that time in the custody of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) had a lasting impact on him, and it wasn't good. He came home with a great deal of insecurity, afraid to let Lakisha out of his sight. There were times that Lakisha was afraid that he would never come home, and times that she feared for Malik's very life. She thanks God that he is safe now. The public attention brought to their story by Health Impact News made a big difference, she believes. As long as DCFS and Lurie Children's Hospital were able to operate in secrecy, there was no accountability and they were able to do whatever they wanted with Malik, including perform multiple experimental surgeries on him without his family's consent. To this day, Malik's story remains one of the most horrific stories we have ever covered of medical abuse under Child Protective Services custody. Because our readers became involved in making phone calls and writing letters, holding the hospital and DCFS accountable, Malik was finally returned home.

Isaiah Rider Chicago Court Hearing Monday – Supporters Pray They Will Let the 18 Year Old Go Free

There will be a court hearing in Chicago regarding the case of 18 year old Missouri resident. Even though he is now an adult, Cook County DCFS, their child protective system, still retains control of his life. Supporters are calling for Illinois to "Free Isaiah Rider!" They invite the press and supporters to attend the hearing, which takes place on Monday, March 21, 2016, at 1:30 pm, at 1100 S Hamilton, Chicago, Illinois, at the Juvenile Court in the courtroom of Judge Nicholas Geanopoulos. Supporters have been very frustrated with the fact that Isaiah Rider is now an adult, but the Illinois DCFS will not free him to live his life. Isaiah himself has pleaded, to no avail, for the system to let him go. He wants to be able to live his life without their interference.

Isaiah Rider is 18 Now, but Illinois Maintains Custody of Medically Kidnapped Missouri Teen

Illinois continues to "terrorize" Missouri resident Isaiah Rider and his family, even after he turned 18 last August. The family had hoped that they would leave them alone, but that has not happened. Their story has not been in the news lately, but their medical kidnapping story is anything but over. Isaiah's mother, Michelle Rider, thought that things would settle down after an appellate court said that Illinois DCFS should not be involved after Isaiah's 18th birthday. They thought their nightmare with the Child Protective System was finally over. However, they have learned that the Cook County Juvenile Court, with the same judge and same players, continues to hold hearings about Isaiah. Usually he and his mother are not informed or invited to these hearings, some of which are off the record, even though it is their lives that are being decided by this entity. Michelle has learned that the state of Illinois continues to receive federal Title IV-E money for her son. Could this be the reason why Illinois won't let go of their case?

Report: Illinois DCFS Needs Total Overhaul

Beset by failures in leadership and in treatment of the state's most vulnerable children, Illinois' Department of Children and Family Services is hammering out a reform plan after a panel of court-appointed experts determined the agency needs a top-to-bottom overhaul if it hopes to improve the safety and well-being of the thousands of youths in its care. The report concluded that too many children who are wards of the state are shuffled from placement to placement and forced to wait months for services. The result, the experts wrote, was an erosion of the children's "already pronounced distrust in the system." The beleaguered agency also suffers from an "absence of responsibility and accountability" when it comes to ensuring the children receive the help they need, according to the report.