Dr. Alice Newton, Medical Director of the Child Protection Program at Massachusetts General Hospital. Her testimony has wrongly convicted parents of Child Abuse. She is currently being sued for malpractice in the Justina Pelletier case. As these types of convictions are over-turned across the country, will other Child Abuse Pediatricians be held accountable in a court of law for their actions? Image Source.
Child Abuse Pediatrics: The “Science” of Arrogance
by Monica Mears
Health Impact News
I do not think that you can get a fair child abuse trial before a jury anywhere in the country… I do not care how sophisticated or law smart jurors are, when they hear that a child has been abused, a piece of their mind closes up, and this goes for the judge, the jurors, and all of us. …we do not care whether it is the right individual or not.
Somebody should be punished for this heinous crime. –Abner Mivka, Former Chief Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals/District of Columbia Circuit [1]
Judge Mikva’s assertion, that child abuse might affect jury verdicts, is used to illustrate “generic prejudice.”
But it’s not just judges and juries that are prejudiced. Child abuse pediatricians, doctors, their institutions, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the entire system of Child Protective Services (CPS) and law enforcement are all too often guilty of generic prejudice as well. As thousands of innocent families increasingly become subject to heinous accusations of child abuse by pediatricians and doctors, the tragedy of false accusations and convictions is increasing.
However, the medical and child protection system’s lack of impartiality is just the tip of the iceberg. More shocking are the many ways in which the medical profession and its child abuse pediatric specialty hide stereotyping, arrogance, abuse of authority and twisted “science” when it claims to “diagnose” child abuse – which is in fact a legal allegation, not truly a medical diagnosis.
With agonizing slowness, as families’ stories are told, some are finally beginning to look more closely and question the assumptions on which child abuse pediatrics are based.
Continue reading this article in our eBook:
Medical Kidnap’s Wall of Shame: Child Abuse Doctors Used by CPS to Kidnap Children
Hospitals and doctors who have been responsible for medical kidnappings and reported on by Medical Kidnap. Those with more than one offense are noted.
ALABAMA
St. Vincent’s Hospital in Birmingham, Alabama, Dr. Terry Bierd, http://medicalkidnap.com/2014/03/29/parents-blackmailed-by-doctor-consent-to-vaccine-or-we-take-your-newborn/
ALASKA
Providence Alaska Medical Center, Alaska http://medicalkidnap.com/2015/01/25/medical-kidnap-it-happens-to-adults-too/
ARIZONA
Kathryn Coffman, M.D., St. Joseph’s Hospital Crisis Center located at Child Help USA, http://medicalkidnap.com/2015/05/31/doctor-involved-in-arizona-medical-kidnapping-case-to-face-charges-before-arizona-medical-board/
Banner Desert Medical Center, Mesa, Arizona http://medicalkidnap.com/2015/01/29/corruption-and-medical-malpractice-coverup-involving-arizona-cps-how-one-family-was-destroyed/
Phoenix Children’s Hospital, AZ http://medicalkidnap.com/2014/11/27/phoenix-mother-who-lost-son-to-cps-and-medical-dispute-on-local-tv/
Phoenix Children’s Hospital http://medicalkidnap.com/2014/11/09/phoenix-childrens-hospital-seizes-8-year-old-boy-because-mother-seeks-second-opinion/
Phoenix Children’s Hospital http://medicalkidnap.com/2014/10/14/a-history-of-medical-kidnapping-at-phoenix-childrens-hospital/
Banner Thunderbird Hospital, Glendale, AZ http://medicalkidnap.com/2015/01/22/parents-escape-hospital-and-medical-kidnap-threat-in-arizona/
CALIFORNIA
Desert Regional Medical Center, Riverside County, California, http://medicalkidnap.com/2014/12/09/cps-takes-1-day-old-baby-from-mom-because-she-left-the-hospital-too-early/
Children’s Hospital of California (CHOC) – Orange County http://medicalkidnap.com/2015/05/01/cps-threatens-to-kidnap-7-year-old-in-california-when-parents-try-to-transfer-to-different-hospital/#sthash.lM1hZogP.dpuf
Sutter Memorial Hospital, Sacramento, CA http://healthimpactnews.com/2013/cps-assaults-father-and-snatches-baby-from-mother-after-doctor-discharges-baby-from-hospital/
UCLA Children’s Hospital, Los Angeles http://medicalkidnap.com/2015/11/04/ucla-medical-doctors-and-la-county-medically-kidnap-paramedic-and-film-producers-daughter/
Miller Children’s Hospital, Long Beach, CA http://medicalkidnap.com/2015/12/10/michigan-teen-medically-kidnapped-and-placed-in-juvenile-detention-facility-as-her-health-deteriorates/
COLORADO
Denver Hospital in Colorado http://medicalkidnap.com/2014/12/04/boy-removed-from-family-and-father-jailed-over-lyme-disease-disagreement/
Colorado Springs Children’s Hospital http://medicalkidnap.com/2013/10/08/mother-forced-to-give-son-chemo-even-though-he-is-in-remission/
CONNECTICUT
Connecticut Children’s Medical Center in Hartford http://medicalkidnap.com/2015/04/02/teen-forced-to-undergo-chemotherapy-denied-visitation-with-mom-must-stay-in-hospital/
Connecticut Children’s Medical Center, SCAN (Child Abuse and Neglect) clinic http://medicalkidnap.com/2015/02/07/no-charges-filed-but-3-year-old-cancer-child-taken-from-mother-over-diaper-rash/
Connecticut hospital, un-named http://medicalkidnap.com/2015/01/08/connecticut-supreme-court-sides-with-dcf-girl-to-remain-in-custody-for-forced-chemotherapy/
ILLINOIS
Lurie’s Children’s Hospital, IL http://medicalkidnap.com/2015/04/17/illinois-stops-teen-from-going-to-mayo-clinic-legalized-terrorism-claims-distraught-mom/
Rush Copley Hospital, ALSO Loyola Children’s Hospital, Chicago http://medicalkidnap.com/2014/12/24/another-medical-kidnap-in-illinois-infant-twins-seized-from-parents-over-medical-dispute/
MAINE
Hospital in Bath, Maine http://medicalkidnap.com/2014/11/28/child-with-ehlers-danlos-syndrome-taken-by-doctors-from-loving-family/
Maine Medical Center (MMC) http://medicalkidnap.com/2015/06/19/medical-kidnapping-in-maine-child-with-ehlers-danlos-syndrome-sister-seized-grandfather-commits-suicide/
MARYLAND
MD Hospital, near Leonardtown, Maryland http://medicalkidnap.com/2015/06/03/maryland-father-accused-of-abuse-over-broken-bones-both-children-removed-from-home-of-loving-parents/
MASSACHUSETTS
Brookside Intensive Treatment Unit, Great Barrington, Massachusetts, ALSO – a VT hospital http://medicalkidnap.com/2015/04/07/vermont-teen-drugged-against-her-will-held-in-custody-in-massachusetts-mental-health-facility/
Boston hospital – http://medicalkidnap.com/2015/04/30/feds-order-baby-returned-after-massachusetts-kidnaps-child-due-to-mothers-disability/
Boston Children’s hospital – http://medicalkidnap.com/2015/04/24/another-medical-kidnapping-at-boston-childrens-hospital-baby-seized-over-formula-disagreement/
Boston Children’s Hospital http://medicalkidnap.com/2014/06/28/justinas-law-seeks-to-end-experimental-medical-research-on-children-seized-by-child-protection-services/
MICHIGAN
Marquette, MI Hospital http://medicalkidnap.com/2012/03/19/state-of-michigan-continues-case-against-parents-to-force-chemo-on-cancer-free-child/
New Oakland Child-Adolescent & Family Center, Detroit, MI http://medicalkidnap.com/2011/08/15/center-that-reported-home-school-mom-to-child-protection-services-has-ties-to-drug-companies/
University of Michigan Mott’s Children’s Hospital, Anne Arbor, Michigan http://medicalkidnap.com/2015/12/10/michigan-teen-medically-kidnapped-and-placed-in-juvenile-detention-facility-as-her-health-deteriorates/
MISSOURI
Children’s Mercy Hospital http://medicalkidnap.com/2015/03/04/the-fight-for-jaxon-adams-continues-after-he-was-taken-by-cps-when-parents-sought-second-opinion/
OHIO
Akron Children’s Hospital, OH http://medicalkidnap.com/2013/12/07/amish-girl-who-refused-chemo-coming-home-hospital-gives-up-guardianship/
St. Vincent Charity Medical Center, Cleveland, OH and Dr. Saraj Brar – http://medicalkidnap.com/2014/03/18/woman-confined-by-force-to-psychiatric-ward-for-praying-and-fasting/#sthash.6KffpJ0e.dpuf
OKLAHOMA
Oklahoma University Children’s Hospital, Oklahoma City http://medicalkidnap.com/2015/03/28/cleared-of-criminal-charges-yet-infant-taken-away-from-family-for-failure-to-thrive/
Oklahoma City Children’s Hospital, Dr. John Stuemky http://medicalkidnap.com/2015/01/20/oklahoma-takes-3-children-away-from-parents-when-one-is-found-with-possible-brittle-bone-disease/#sthash.81URhGDV.dpuf
PENNSYLVANIA
Hershey Children’s Hospital, Hersheys Child Abuse specialist
Penn State child abuse specialist, Dr. Kathryn Crowell http://medicalkidnap.com/2015/06/26/medical-kidnapping-in-pennsylvania-parents-of-baby-with-rickets-accused-of-abuse/
Dr. Crowell has been accused of falsely testifying against parents before. In a 2009 case she accused a parent of child abuse which led to a father spending over a year in jail. A jury later found him not guilty. http://www.publicopiniononline.com/story/news/local/2016/01/01/cleared-child-abuseman-sues-county-state/78150436/ and http://shakenbabydefense.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/110927-filed-complaint.pdf
Pediatrician, un-named, Centre County area of Pennsylvania http://medicalkidnap.com/2012/01/19/pediatrician-calls-state-trooper-and-cps-on-parent-refusing-to-vaccinate-child/
SOUTH DAKOTA
Sanford Hospital in Sioux Falls, South Dakota http://medicalkidnap.com/2014/12/23/medical-kidnap-case-in-south-dakota-featured-in-local-media/m
TENNESSEE
Erlanger Hospital/Health System, Chattanooga, TN http://medicalkidnap.com/2015/04/01/medical-kidnap-in-georgia-newborn-nursing-baby-seized-at-hospital/
http://medicalkidnap.com/2015/03/30/medical-tyranny-in-tennessee-forced-antibiotics-on-newborns/
Dr. Deborah Lowen, child abuse specialist and the head of the child abuse team at Vanderbilt Hospital in Nashville http://medicalkidnap.com/2015/06/15/baby-found-with-broken-bones-parents-assumed-guilty-of-abuse-and-lose-custody/
TEXAS
University Medical Center. Lubbock, TX http://www.everythinglubbock.com/news/local-news/west-texas-mom-claims-cps-and-umc-kidnapped-her-baby
Houston hospital – http://medicalkidnap.com/2015/05/06/texas-cps-kidnaps-19-month-old-child-for-failure-to-thrive/
Houston, Children’s Cancer Dept. http://medicalkidnap.com/2011/09/24/as-a-parent-you-dont-have-the-right-to-choose-cancer-treatment-for-your-child/
WASHINGTON
Seattle Children’s Hospital in Seattle Washington, Dr. Matthew Park, Dr. Maggie Likes, Dr. Roberta Stephenson, and Dr. Mason Oltman http://medicalkidnap.com/2015/02/28/was-medical-kidnap-in-washington-state-a-cover-up-for-medical-malpractice/
References
[1] “Panel One: What Empirical Research Tells Us, and What We Need to Know about Juries and the Quest for Impartiality.” The American University Law Review. (p. 564-5) (Winter, 1991)
[2] “Wrongful diagnosis of child abuse—a master theory.” James Le Fanu, MRCP, Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, 2005 Jun; 98(6): 249–254. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1142227/
[3] “The Controversial Child Abuse Epidemic Tearing Families Apart.” by Jody Allard. October 26, 2015. http://www.theestablishment.co/2015/10/26/medical-child-abuse-an-accusation-epidemic/
[4] “Exploring the controversy in child abuse pediatrics and false accusations of abuse,” by Steven C. Gabaeff. Science Direct. Jan. 2016. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1344622315300523
[5] United States Supreme Court, JAVIER CAVAZOS, ACTING WARDEN v. SHIRLEY REE SMITH, No. 10-1115 Decided: October 31, 2011. Ginsberg, J., dissenting. https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/11pdf/10-1115.pdf
[6] “MEDICAL ETHICS CONCERNS IN PHYSICAL CHILD ABUSE INVESTIGATIONS: A CRITICAL PERSPECTIVE,” By George J. Barry and Diane L. Redleaf, The Family Defense Center, March 14, 2014. http://www.familydefensecenter.net/medical-ethics-concerns-in-child-abuse-investigations/
[7] “The Controversial Child Abuse Epidemic Tearing Families Apart.” by Jody Allard. The Establishment. October 26, 2015. http://www.theestablishment.co/2015/10/26/medical-child-abuse-an-accusation-epidemic/
[8] “The Controversial Child Abuse Epidemic Tearing Families Apart.” by Jody Allard. The Establishment. October 26, 2015. http://www.theestablishment.co/2015/10/26/medical-child-abuse-an-accusation-epidemic/
[9] “Exploring the controversy in child abuse pediatrics and false accusations of abuse,” by Steven C. Gabaeff Science Direct. Jan. 2016. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1344622315300523
[10] “Exploring the controversy in child abuse pediatrics and false accusations of abuse,” by Steven C. Gabaeff Science Direct. Jan. 2016. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1344622315300523
[11] Gabaeff. Pediatric Radiology Dec 2015
[12] “Shaken Science – in-depth series on Shaken Baby Syndrome,” Washington Post. March 20, 2015. https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/investigations/shaken-baby-syndrome/Doctors-who-diagnosed-Shaken-Baby-Syndrome-now-defend-the-accused.html
[13] “Shaken Science – in-depth series on Shaken Baby Syndrome,” Washington Post. March 20, 2015. https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/investigations/shaken-baby-syndrome/Doctors-who-diagnosed-Shaken-Baby-Syndrome-now-defend-the-accused.html
[14] “Shaken Baby Syndrome, Abusive Head Trauma, and Actual Innocence: Getting It Right,” by Keith A. Findley, Patrick D. Barnes, David A. Moran, and Waney Squier* Houston Journal of Health Law & Policy , Nov. 28, 2012 www.law.northwestern.edu/
[15] “The Controversial Child Abuse Epidemic Tearing Families Apart.” by Jody Allard. The Establishment. October 26, 2015. http://www.theestablishment.co/2015/10/26/medical-child-abuse-an-accusation-epidemic/
[16] American Juries: The Verdict By Neil Vidmar, Valerie P. Hans, pub. 2007, pp. 113-114.
[17] “Exploring the controversy in child abuse pediatrics and false accusations of abuse,” by Steven C. Gabaeff Science Direct. Jan. 2016. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1344622315300523
[18] Shaken Baby Syndrom… Progress for True Science?” by Phil Locke. Wrongful Convictions Blog. January 28, 2014. https://wrongfulconvictionsblog.org/2014/01/28/shaken-baby-syndrome-progress-for-true-science/
[19] “Hot Spots:Pinpointing Shaken-Baby Syndrome Cases,” the Medill Justice Project, Dec. 2013. http://www.medilljusticeproject.org/2013/12/10/hot-spots/
[20] “Medill Database Opens With a Geography Lesson,” Sue Luttner, Dec.11, 2013. https://onsbs.com/2013/12/11/medill-database-opens-with-a-geography-lesson/
[21] REPORT TO CONGRESS ON IMMUNITY FROM PROSECUTION FOR PROFESSIONAL CONSULTATION IN SUSPECTED AND KNOWN INSTANCES OF CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. June 2013
[22] Child Welfare Information Gateway. (2016). Immunity for reporters of child abuse and neglect. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Children’s Bureau.
[23] The Child Abuse Pediatrician (CAP) – Just Another Term for Medical “Cop,” by Phil Locke. Wrongfulconvictionsblog.org. March 20, 2014. https://wrongfulconvictionsblog.org/2014/03/20/the-child-abuse-pediatrician-cap-just-another-term-for-medical-cop/