Why is the Arizona “Family Advocate” Threatening People Asking About Children in State Custody?

Why are parents and legislators being threatened with jail and fines for simply asking questions about children taken into State custody, by a woman who is not even an elected official? Maria Hoffman carries the title "Director of the Arizona Legislative Office of Family Advocacy." Her job description is stated to be: "Under contract to the President of the Arizona Senate and the Speaker of the Arizona House of Representatives, and working for all ninety members of the legislature, Ms. Hoffman is the only person at the legislature who handles CPS constituent issues directly and with the Attorney General’s Office." So any parent who has a question about why CPS took away their child cannot even ask their elected representatives in the Arizona State Legislature anything about their child, as all such inquires are handled only by Maria Hoffman, who is an employee and not an elected official. When people ask questions about her role or about their children in state custody, she replies by threatening them with jail time or fines, including state legislators according to one source. This is a "Family Advocate"? How can one woman have so much power to keep families apart as a paid employee of the government and not an elected official? Who is she really protecting? Health Impact News has discovered some shocking information about Maria Hoffman.

Mom of 2 Year Old Special-Needs Child Asked for Help: Arizona CPS Took Him Away Instead

Lisa Meltzer is an Arizona mom of a special needs little boy. She and her family received special training to care for this precious little baby. But one day Lisa was so sick, she felt she needed more help than her family could supply for her son for a short time, while she recovered from her sickness. She called the Arizona State social services to request help. But according to Lisa, instead of helping, they removed the child from her custody and are now offering him up for adoption to foster parents. Even though she has not been charged with abuse, the state apparently believes they can remove the child simply based on his complicated medical needs. Her parental rights have allegedly been violated, as she has not been able to visit her 2 year old son for 4 months, and the Arizona Attorney General and Family Court Judge allegedly removed her from court when she tried to speak up for her parental rights. What is going on in Arizona?

Phoenix Children’s Hospital Seizes 8 Year Old Boy Because Mother Seeks Second Opinion

Tonya Brown is “just a mom who is in love with her kid,” adorable 8-year-old Christopher Reign. Because Tonya questioned a very risky, painful procedure for her son, Tonya reports that his doctor at Phoenix Children’s Hospital enlisted Child Protective Services to take him away from her custody. If the doctor has her way, Tonya could lose her beloved child forever in the upcoming hearings to permanently sever her parental rights later this month – all because a mother wanted to try less invasive options for her son before going to a treatment that carries sizable risks.

Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy: A Fake Psychiatric Disorder Used to Medically Kidnap Children?

A Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy diagnosis lacks scientific validity. The Munchausen syndrome by proxy profile used by doctors contains paradoxes that make it very difficult, almost impossible, for mothers to prove their innocence. For example, being an over-protective parent is part of the Munchausen syndrome by proxy profile, but so is being a negligent parent. Read how one family lost custody of their vaccine-damaged daughter to a Munchausen syndrome by proxy diagnosis in a medical kidnapping case. It took months to regain custody of the girl, but it was too late. The child died a short time later.

Families Ripped Apart By False Accusations of Child Abuse – Vaccine Injuries Often to Blame

There are a growing number of parents who have been falsely accused of child abuse. Many of these cases only occur after parents mention that their child first became ill after they received a routine vaccination. Over the years as a journalist exposing these issues, I have been asked to help dozens of families worldwide who have lost their children or are losing their children as a result of false accusations. I spend many hours sifting through paperwork and engaging with a small number of brave professionals who are willing to give up their time and experience to help in these difficult and complex cases.

17 Year Old Boy Breaks Silence on Medical Kidnapping: Reports Hospital Drugged Him at Time of Custody Dispute

Denied a voice and presence in current court proceedings regarding a custody battle between his mother and Illinois CPS and Lurie Children's Hospital in Chicago, 17 year old Isaiah Rider has decided not to remain silent any longer, and recently told his story in an exclusive interview with Health Impact News reporter Terri LaPoint.

Fight Rages for Teenager Isaiah Rider’s Freedom – Mother Commits “Cardinal Sin” Of Questioning Doctors

It's the nightmare that they just can't wake up from. 17-year-old Isaiah Rider is still in foster care and cannot go home to his mom, all because his mother committed what has been called the "cardinal sin" - she dared challenge the doctors when her son was in pain and not getting better. For that crime, Michelle Rider and her son are being punished by CPS and the hospital that couldn't find an answer for him. Michelle trusted the doctors to help her son, who has neurofibromatosis, a rare condition which causes painful tumors on the nerves. However, when Isaiah was still suffering severe pain for weeks after the surgery that was supposed to fix things, she did what any good mother would do - she questioned them, and fought for her child. The term "Mama Bear" comes to mind - it's what moms do. However, some of the doctors at Lurie Children's Hospital in Chicago reportedly bristled at the audacity of one who would dare challenge their authority, and they pushed back.

Medical Kidnapping Business: Judges Skirting the Law for Federal Funds

You have just had armed law enforcement officials show up at your home with CPS workers, demanding that you hand over your child. Terrified, you ask, why?? A doctor has issued a complaint of "medical abuse." Then you remember that you chose to fire your doctor and choose a new one. Not able to resist armed law enforcement, you have no choice but to watch them take your child away. You quickly call an attorney, who sets up a court appearance where you can appeal your case to a judge in family court. Unfortunately, the judge seems unwilling to listen to your reasoning, and does not return your child. Seem like a nightmare? This is a nightmare happening to hundreds of families all across America. Why is this happening? Why do 99% of cases like this brought before a judge in family court never allow the child to return home? As one attorney states: "Can they really be right that much of the time?" In this article we explain why family court judges almost never return children to their parents, with actual footage from a judge's training video on a government website, showing how federal funding received for children who become wards of the state over-ride parental rights.

The Medical Kidnap Business: Bilking Medicaid

Children for Sale. When we report to the public these cases of medical kidnappings, one of the most natural questions people ask are: why? Why do medical professionals and child social service agency workers take children away from loving parents? One of the main reasons this terrible practice goes on in virtually all 50 sates is because every child who is taken away from their parents by social service agencies like CPS (Child Protection Services), immediately becomes a ward of the state, and the state can bill Medicaid for ALL of that child's medical costs. It has become a multi-billion dollar industry.

Eight year old Jaxon Taken By Hospital When Parents Ask For Second Opinion

A Missouri doctor recently told a little boy that, if she had it her way, he would never see his mommy and daddy again. This was after 8 year old Jaxon was seized from his parents' custody based solely on a statement from this single doctor. His parents, Tiffany and Jason Adams, are desperately trying to bring him home after what appears to be his doctor's retaliation because they "dared to seek a second opinion." The Adams insisted that they had a right to seek another opinion. The doctor in charge of the care of their son replied: “I want you to know big hospitals take kids away from families for this stuff.”

Health Impact News Launches MedicalKidnap.com

Health Impact News has launched a new website to specifically publish stories of families who have had their children removed from their custody by medical professionals using local social service agencies, such as CPS (Child Protection Services). Health Impact News has learned that these "medical kidnapping" cases are not isolated cases, but a systemic problem throughout the United States. Since publishing stories of medical kidnappings happening in Boston, Chicago, and Phoenix, many other families have contacted us to tell similar stories. The latest story just published involves a 4 month old baby who was removed from the custody of both parents in Texas for a medical dispute.

A History of Medical Kidnapping at Phoenix Children’s Hospital

Earlier this month we reported the sad story of the Diegel family, who had their two daughters seized by Phoenix Children's Hospital for disagreeing with the doctors over their treatment. We have previously reported many similar stories of hospitals using Child Protection Services (CPS) to remove children from loving parents simply for disagreeing with doctors, such as Justina Pelletier at Boston Children's Hosptial, and Isaiah Rider at Lurie Children's Hospital in Chicago. Since publishing the Diegel family story, Health Impact News has been approached by many families with similar experiences with CPS in Phoenix, and with Phoenix Children's Hospital. These parents are terrified of coming forward and telling their story. What we have learned in our investigation is truly troubling, and needs to be exposed by the media.

Girl Seized from Family in Medical Dispute In Grave Danger

In a medical kidnapping case in Arizona of two sisters that we reported on last Thursday, one of the girls, 12 year old Kayla Diegel, is reportedly in grave danger and in need of serious medical help she is not receiving from foster care. A Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) for the two girls reportedly resigned from the case over ethical concerns about how the girls were being treated in foster care. Kayla in particular was losing weight due to the fact that her feeding tube had been removed. She has a condition called “Gastroparesis,” which is a partially paralyzed stomach. She cannot take in enough nutrients by mouth, and needs the feeding tube. She has reportedly lost 25% of her body weight.

10 and 12 Year Old Sisters Seized from Family by Hospital in Phoenix

In a case bearing several similarities to Justina Pelletier's family's experience with Boston Children's Hospital, and Isaiah Rider's family's experience with Lurie Children's Hospital in Chicago, 10 and 12 year old sisters have been seized by Phoenix Children's Hospital over a medical dispute. The mother has reportedly been ordered to not discuss the case with anyone, and has been forced to take down YouTube videos and a Facebook Page with over 3000 followers that was documenting the actions of Child Protection Services and doctors at Phoenix Children's Hospital. Kayla and Hannah Diegel suffer from congenital disorder of glycosylation, (CDG, a form of mitochondrial disease.) Part of their condition is also suffering with "Gastroparesis," which is a partially paralyzed stomach. As a result, they were fed through feeding tubes to bypass the stomach. During the course of their treatment, the girls' family doctor's clinic of eight years, Estrella Mountain Medical Group, suddenly sent a letter to the parents instructing them to transfer the girls to the care of Phoenix Children's Hospital Special Needs Clinic. They bounced between several different doctors at PCH, but they were all in the field of genetics. It was during this time that the girls were diagnosed with "congenital disorder of glycosylation" (CDG). Unknown to the parents at the time, there was funding and drug trials going on for this rare condition. The article on the Facebook Page reports: "The glycosylation trial whose collaborative agreement is through NHGRI/ TGEN opened up on March 14th, 2014, just 3 weeks before the two Phoenix sisters were medically kidnapped." The mother reportedly began to suspect that something was going on, as she reviewed the medical records and medications her daughters were receiving. She requested that the care of her daughters be transferred to another doctor "due to his neglect and endangerment of younger daughter i.e., not returning phone calls, ignoring her severe pain and documented bowel impaction being treated from home by registered nurses, under his supervision." Shortly after this, in April of 2014, the hospital took custody of both daughters away from the family through CPS. The family contends that the daughters are suffering since being removed from their family, as their feeding tubes have been removed. Kayla has reportedly lost 25% of her body weight after being in the custody of PCH for four months.

“Justina’s Law” Seeks to End Experimental Medical Research on Children Seized by Child Protection Services

Now that the tragic abduction of Justina Pelletier by Boston Children's Hospital has been resolved after a national outcry, a bipartisan group of Congressional representatives are introducing new legislation to prevent the kind of medical abuses that led to Justina's forced confinement for more than 16 months. Justina's situation is not unique, but representative of a larger problem with Child Protection Services and hospitals all across the U.S. that use the foster care system to legally abduct children for medical research. Justina's case received national media attention from talk show hosts such as Dr. Phil, Glenn Beck, Mike Huckabee and many others, due to her parents refusal to obey a court gag order on her case. Others in the past have attempted to expose this corrupt system, such as Congresswoman Nancy Schaefer from Georgia. Congresswoman Schaefer lost her Senate seat in Georgia as a result of her speaking out, but states it was something “worth losing” for standing up for the rights of parents who were having their children kidnapped by CPS. She and her husband were found murdered in their home in 2010.

Parents Denied Access to Son in Forced Medical Detention and Forced Medication Case in Alaska

A young man’s deteriorating health led the state of Alaska to assume full control of his medical care — against his own written will and the against the wishes of his family. Since last October he has been trapped in a hospital, isolated without visitors, on an extensive series of psychotropic drugs, in a condition that continues to diminish.