I was checking Facebook yesterday and was presented with a terrifying video that my friend shared. The title of the video by Arthur L. Caplan, PhD is Parental Authority Should Be Overridden for a Sick Child. Here is a link to the 4.5 minute video from November 01, 2017 under Perspective > Ethics: Today's Hot Topics, Disclosures.

In the video, the doctor sets up the case for families who do not follow what the doctor prescribes for their children. The following are notes I took while he was speaking. He says they do not want to take their child to the doctor for religious reasons or they may follow a more natural or homeopathic treatment. He discusses the obligation of the state to override parental authority. He suggests if you know someone who is a family who is not taking action with a child with a life threatening condition/sick to report them and let social services handle it. Courts will then override parents if they feel the need to intervene where the child can benefit. He says that if a child is sick and the midwife or whoever is concerned, that should be reported to Child Welfare or the police. Then they will investigate and make sure the child is being protected. He believes that parents should be prosecuted to "send the message" that not taking your child to the doctor is not acceptable. They, however, should not be sent to jail since they are already grieving the death of a child, but should instead be sentenced to community service. That, apparently, lets the community know that prayer will not be accepted as the alternative to medical care. "At the end of the day, child welfare, the child's best interest, can override parental discretion, parental choice, and in some instances, it has to."

I think most parents today are not avoiding various medical treatments because of ignorance. Parents today are able to research on their own, find alternate treatments, and even come up with a plan to present to the doctor. Using the internet, parents are able to figure out if their child's only option is chemotherapy if they are told they have cancer, or perhaps if there might be another type of treatment that might have better results and less side effects. This doctor is basically saying that someone who looks for alternatives is putting their child at risk and should be reported. Then CPS steps in and your child's health is now completely out of your hands as the state will take them into custody and make decisions for them. For example, Charlie Gard.

Will they just stop with reporting sick children? What about reporting parents who choose not to vaccinate their children? What about parents who choose homebirth instead of a hospital? What about parents who decide not to circumcise? We already know that this each item is an issue. When I lived in the US, I regularly wondered if people I knew would not like the decisions I made for my children and would report me to CPS. We did not follow the rest of society in every way with our children. We would research and do what we believed was best, based on our understanding of what we found, knowing our children, and what our conscience led us to do. Sometimes that went along with the norm and sometimes, it was against it.

This man is saying that parents should not have the right to do that. He is saying that if a doctor says to do this, it should be done, no questions asked. So he is saying a doctor can never be wrong in his or her diagnosis? I believe that God has gifted doctors with years of education and experience, but I do believe that they are human and make mistakes. There are cases of CPS being called when a parent seeks a second opinion.

Parents have a responsibility to their children to take care of them and do what is best for them. I do not believe throwing away insulin and praying for healing is the answer, but I also do not believe the state forcing parents to submit to their rule is the answer either. Parents must be able to make an informed decision for their child - seeking second opinions, consultations from others who have been through the same thing, friendly advice.

I saw a post recently on steemit called Healthcare is Going Bionic - First Ever Digital Pill Approved. While this sounds really cool and is amazing technology, it still gives me a Big Brother feeling. The doctor will be able to tell if you took the medication he prescribed you and he will be able to report you if you do not take it. I had a discussion in the comments with the author and we have gone back and forth a few times - feel free to read them if you would like.

Concluding Thoughts

CPS is not your friend and is not the answer. Often they are not on your side and only want to get the child out of your protection so they can do whatever they want (whether you agree with it or not). I do not want someone who does not know me, my situation, my child, or our beliefs to make decisions for me or my child. I am the parent and I will make an informed decision after praying, consulting others, getting a second opinion, praying some more and doing a lot of research. When it all comes down to it, every parent wants to do what is right for their child, and they want to have a healthy child.

As my friend said on Facebook,

Wake up people. They will take away our rights. They will fight to prosper their pockets even when a natural alternative is available and more effective. Be careful how you vote. Losing parental rights is very serious!
This makes me sick. Parents can choose to abort a baby at a time they stand a chance to live but if a parent makes a decision against western medicine for the sake of their child the gov considers them neglectful.

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If you have any thoughts about this, please share it with me in the comments.