presented here in 2 installments. Link to complete story with pictures and refernces here
We The People
by Allie Parker
Health Impact News
2nd installment
The amount of false allegations of abuse made by child abuse pediatricians is becoming, if not already, an epidemic. This epidemic, in conjunction with the blatant disregard for the Constitutional rights these families and individuals have as citizens of this country, is showing to be a recipe for injustice.
All across the country many judges are overturning Shaken Baby Syndrome convictions, for example, if only one expert witness testified on behalf of the prosecution, such as a Child Abuse Specialist, and the defense had no special witness to present medical evidence to show other reasons why a child may exhibit signs that could be interpreted as abuse, but could be other medical conditions, such as brittle bones with infantile rickets.
The Innocence Project is currently accepting cases in all 50 states where parents or caregivers have been wrongly convicted of child abuse based simply on the testimony of a single doctor, and in most of these cases they are being overturned.
This injustice towards parents is now stemming into the media. When a judge orders public forums such as MedicalKidnap.com to take down a story, they are violating the 1st Amendment.
As servants of the court and government employees, judges, prosecutors and social workers are all public servants, which make them open to any criticism, public or private, according to the 1st amendment of the US Constitution.
This also applies to the child abuse pediatricians. As physicians employed by non-profit hospitals working together with Child Protection Services and local law enforcement are also public servants.
The simple fact these physicians are working hand in hand with child protection departments and law enforcement, which includes receiving funding through contracts from these departments, makes them and the departments funding them open to any and all public criticism according to our First Amendment.
Citizens also have a 1st Amendment right to express their concerns about public employees at a meeting that is otherwise open for public comment. In Moore v. City of Creedmoor, 345 N.C. 356 (1997), the North Carolina Supreme Court recognized a potential claim for a violation of First Amendment rights when the town board refused to allow a citizen to criticize the police chief.
The court held:
[Citizens] have a right to assert a public complaint concerning the negligence of public officials and to petition the government for redress of grievances…The United States Supreme Court has repeatedly held that the First Amendment guarantees the right to criticize police officers…It should also be noted that once the government has opened a forum-such as a public meeting-to allow direct citizen involvement, it may not discriminate between speakers based upon the content of their speech. [5]
Whether it is an open forum opened by the government or social media, citizens have the right to criticize these public servants, whether they are doctors, social workers, judges, prosecutors, etc.
Not only should victims criticize the negligence by the physicians, they should also point out any and all violations to their Constitutional rights by the courts. Whether it is the prosecutor or the judge.
It is “We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”
We are “The People.” The people who established, and are protected by, our Constitution.
Why are so many children being legally kidnapped from families on a daily basis due to one public servant’s opinion?
It is time “The People” rise up, assert the First Amendment to the Constitution, and speak out against the negligence of the physicians who put these cases in motion, and continue to assert your right to speak out against the prosecutors, judges, and departments that further violate these rights which were set forth to protect citizens from this very thing.
“When government fears the people, there is liberty. When the people fear the government, there is tyranny.” – Thomas Jefferson
References:
- United States Senate, https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/generic/ConstitutionDay.htm
- St. Lukes, https://www.stlukesonline.org/about-st-lukes
- National Children’s Alliance, Annual Report 2018 (pg. 19)
- State of Idaho Judicial Branch Supreme Court, Rule 115, https://isc.idaho.gov/irflp115
- “Criticizing Public Employees in Public”, F. Bluestein (2013)
