Tag: parental-rights

  • Health Freedom Advocates

    Health Freedom Idaho leadership understands that our liberty to choose what is right for our family is always one vote away from tyranny. With this in mind, we push ourselves harder each legislative session to protect and preserve the liberty we value in this great state.

    From its inception Health Freedom Idaho (HFI) was created to preserve Idahoans’ health care freedoms.

    All around us, states are battling the removal of exemptions. Amid such medical tyranny, parents are fleeing the vaccine extremism as medical refugees. As we discuss the situation with health freedom state leaders, so many regret that they did not get LOUD earlier. We at Health Freedom Idaho heed this as a warning.

    Health Freedom Idaho Wins

    Health Freedom Idaho has been ON THE SCENE since 2015. 

    • Health Freedom Idaho has had representatives at every legislative session since 2015. Our representatives attend and testify at our Capitol on behalf of Idahoans, who value parental rights and health freedom.
    • Health Freedom Idaho has faithfully monitored each legislative session and kept tabs on bureaucratic activity to determine what new bills and rules might undermine Idahoans’ liberty.
    • Health Freedom Idaho strives to provide concise and consistent communication with members providing timely calls to action to preserve liberty.
    • Health Freedom Idaho has aided in drafting bills that safeguard parental rights, medical freedom, and nondiscrimination in child care, education, and employment. 
    • Health Freedom Idaho has authored almost 1000 articles published on our website, quickly becoming one of the most significant health freedom websites nationwide
    • Health Freedom Idaho has maintained our social media presence amid considerable censorship and internet bullying. 
    • Health Freedom Idaho has traveled and presented at Autism One, We the People, and other Vaccine Choice regional groups. 
    • Health Freedom Idaho hosts our own Natural Health Symposium to provide Idahoans access to the wealth of knowledge from qualified, naturally minded health practitioners.
    Health Freedom Idaho accomplishments

    And we are just getting started. Rest assured that we are not backing down! We are continually doing things to effective change.

    If you live in Idaho, or will soon call this beautiful state your home, we implore you to take action and join us today! 

    JOIN HFI

    For less than a dollar a month, you can join this growing dedicated community that is determined to protect liberty in Idaho. 

  • School Vaccine Exemption Disclosure in Idaho. Are We Making Progress?

    No Shots. No School. NOT TRUE! We have seen over the years how the schools attempt to deny, coerce and bully parents. This is why we started Health Freedom Idaho. Nobody was talking about vaccine exemption forms, parents didn’t know there were exemptions and schools didn’t provide the information. It was Health Freedom Idaho brought a bill from the citizens that got the rules from the health department to line up with statute. We have great news! NOW things are changing in the schools!

    We have to keep pushing. This is the time to join Health Freedom Idaho. It’s the time to go to the school board and ask them to be honest.

    If you don’t know what your rights are – you are going to lose your right. You only retain the rights you know you have!

    For more information about vaccine exemptions 

    And a huge thank you to the Bonneville School District for being transparent with vaccine exemptions!!! Go tell them thank you!!

    (Around the 29 min mark where they discuss exemptions)

    https://www.facebook.com/bjsd93/videos/368466380712148?s=573969919&v=e&sfns=xmo

    We want to continue to spread the word, educate parents and encourage other school districts to stand up for informed consent. HELP US! We want to share resources/information. Help us cover the cost of printing and stamps and the advertising necessary to cross the censorship barrier.

    DONATE HERE

  • Protect Your Parental Rights When CPS Investigates

    There’s nothing quite like the adrenaline rush and flood of shame that hits when you open the door to find someone from Child Protective Services (CPS) on your doorstep. It’s horrifying. It’s embarrassing. You immediately start to remember every CPS horror story you’ve ever heard and you begin to worry. Since more parents are experiencing a visit from CPS than ever before, and since sometimes those visits have resulted in the quick removal of children – despite no grounds to allegations of harm or abuse – it is critically important for every parent to have a good idea of how to respond to a CPS visit.

    Parents have been ‘reported’ to CPS for some reasons that have nothing to do with neglect or abuse:

    • Loving parents who refuse a recommended medical treatment for their child can be reported by a doctor who might fear losing his license to practice medicine.
    • Neighbors or estranged family members may report a family despite the lack of grounds to support any allegations of abuse.
    • Parents with a sick child seeking a second opinion have been reported to CPS by a hospital or medical authorities.

    The fact of the matter is that over 80% of the calls that are called in to CPS are false and bogus. But CPS says, all calls have to be investigated. In Idaho statistics reveal that almost 80% of the children removed from their parents are returned to their parents. This calls into question the validity the government agency traumatizing the children and their parents with this forced separation, however that is a discussion for another post. 

    The reality is any visit by CPS should be taken VERY seriously.

    The most significant mistakes made by parents are usually in the very first encounter. If you can understand how to handle the very first encounter with CPS, you can increase your chances of maintaining your family’s rights and freedom.

    CPS will often seek to take a family by surprise. Be prepared.

    1. Be polite & SAY AS LITTLE AS POSSIBLE.
    2. Do NOT let them in your house. Continue to be nice but STAY FIRM.
    3. Ask permission to ask THEM questions. “I realize you are just doing your job. Would it be ok if I asked you a couple of questions?” Record the conversation. Investigator’s contact information. The supervisor’s contact information. Details of the allegations.
    4. Close the conversation telling them you will speak to your attorney and get back with them. 
    5. Close the door. 

    Realize that closing the door will not close the investigation, but will allow you preserve your rights, gather your support and contact your attorney.

    1. THE KEY: Be polite & SAY AS LITTLE AS POSSIBLE. 
    You might be terrified inside. You might be frightened and angry if you feel there is injustice going on, but the number one thing you can do is stay calm and be polite. Anything you say can be twisted. Do NOT DEFEND YOURSELF and do NOT volunteer information.

    Most CPS referrals are very vague. They only know what was reported to them and usually, that information is not very specific. If you jump in and defend yourself, anything you say could be used against you later.

    Once a CPS investigation has begun, they will investigate every aspect of your family. (Take a look at the CPS manual – the social worker doing the investigation is suppose to ‘know’ the answers to questions that involve parental self esteem, job security, discipline practices…) Even if the allegations against you are false, they will be paying attention to other items of concern and can begin investigating other allegations based on their findings.

    The best defense? A closed mouth.

    2. Do NOT let them in your house. 

    Continue to be nice but STAY FIRM. Have one statement ready and repeat it over and over “I know you are just doing your job, but my main obligation is to my children and to help them avoid unnecessary trauma.” If they do not have a warrant and there is no apparent emergency, they are not allowed access to your home. If a police officer is with them, they all know it is illegal to enter a home unless you CONSENT, or unless they have a warrant, or can hear an emergency situation going on.
    DO NOT CONSENT.

    Do not even open the door to allow the CPS agent look into your home to see your children: they can see something that creates an “emergency situation” even if it is not true. 

    Be FIRM. You should not waiver nor give in to thinking: “What’s the harm?” There is no compromise here: no exception. If you invite a CPS investigator social worker into your home, you have just waived your Federally-protected fourth amendment constitutional protection. 

    3. Ask permission to ask THEM questions. 
    “I realize you are just doing your job. Would it be ok if I asked you a couple of questions?” 

    Record the conversation. Idaho recording laws: At least one party must give consent in order to record an in-person conversation. Idaho Code Ann. § 18-6702.> If you need to get your cell phone, close the door and say, “I need to get something.”

    • 1. Get a copy of their ID.
    • 2. Supervisor Information.  What are the name and phone number of your supervisors?
    • 3. “What are the exact allegations that have been made against me? Federal law requires that I should be informed of any allegations against me.” If they say something vague, like “child abuse” or “environmental neglect,” demand specific answers. You have the legal right to this information!
    • 4. Ask them if they have a warrant. Be direct. “Do you have a warrant to search my home or speak to my children?” If they produce a warrant make sure it is signed by a judge and dated. Ask for time to review the warrant. Read it over thoroughly.  Tell them you want your attorney to review the warrant.

    Without a warrant, they must gain your consent to enter your home or speak to your children. They are doing their job. Their supervisor has instructed them to make this visit and they will use whatever tactic they feel will be effective to GET MORE INFORMATION AGAINST YOU. They may alternate between: trying to be nice, being firm, threatening or trying to bargain with you. Stay immune to every tactic. Be Nice, but know your rights. Do not get caught up in their games. Don’t engage them in any discussion, except on the questions above.

    If either CPS or police try to enter your home, ask what the emergency is and inform them you will be video recording once they enter the home. Without a warrant, they cannot take your children unless they feel they are in imminent danger.

     Idaho Code section regarding imminent danger: §16-1608(1)(a). A declaration of imminent danger can be made “only where the child is endangered in his surroundings and prompt removal is necessary to prevent serious physical or mental injury to the child or where the child is an abandoned child . . .”https://isc.idaho.gov/cp/manual/Idaho_CP_Manual-3rd_Edition.pdf

    If the police do force themselves into your home, do not physically resist. Allow them in, state that you object to their violation of your rights and state that you wish to have an attorney present. These statements may assist you in a later court hearing.

    4. Worried you might look ‘guilty’ by not letting them in? 
    The close the conversation with this: “I’d like to have this conversation with you after I have had a chance to speak to my attorney. Is this the number you can be reached to schedule a time for that conversation?” Then simply close the door.

    Once the door is closed take a deep breath, hug your kids tight and begin to prepare in defense of your family.

    The minute you become aware that your family is being investigated, YOU MUST find an attorney who has experience in fighting CPS.

    Juvenile Dependency courts are worlds unto themselves. Your most seasoned and experienced lawyers when first stepping foot into a Juvenile Dependency courtroom are totally dumb struct. Most lawyers –even experienced Family Law attorneys– who are not experienced with CPS mistakenly think that it is their job (as it would be in any other court setting) to find out what CPS wants and then communicate all the details to their clients. Shockingly, doing exactly that often leads to total disaster and the loss of your children.

    If you are accused of physical abuse, immediately have your doctor give your child a thorough physical exam.

    Ask your doctor to write a letter stating that there are no bruises or injuries observed, nor any other health-related issues that would raise any concern or suspicion of child abuse or neglect. Obviously, go to a doctor whom you trust. If a CPS or DCFS social worker suggests a doctor for you or suggests that they know where you can see a doctor at NO CHARGE (as attractive as that may be), NEVER visit with a doctor recommended by CPS. What you may not know is that these doctors are a regular part of the CPS system and they are commonly called as expert-testimony witnesses by CPS as a witness against the parents.

    Create a list of relatives and friends who are willing and able to care for your children if CPS takes them.

    If your children are removed from your home, or the court is demanding that your children must soon leave your home for some period of time it is always better that your children are taken in by relatives or friends. Having your kids in foster care is simply adding one more level of stress and complexity to your plate.

    RESOURCES FOR YOU:

    Idaho Parents CPS Manual: https://isc.idaho.gov/cp/manual/Idaho_CP_Manual-3rd_Edition.pdf

    Corruption in CPS: https://www.liftingtheveil.org/reports2.htm

    YOUR RIGHTS: IT’S UNCONSTITUTIONAL FOR CPS TO CONDUCT AN INVESTIGATION AND INTERVIEW A CHILD ON PRIVATE PROPERTY WITHOUT EXIGENT CIRCUMSTANCES OR PROBABLE CAUSE.

              The decision in the case of Doe et al, v. Heck et al (No. 01-3648, 2003 US App. Lexis 7144) will affect the manner in which law enforcement and child protective services investigations of alleged child abuse or neglect are conducted.  The decision of the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals found that this practice, i.e. the “no prior consent” interview of a child, will ordinarily constitute a “clear violation” of the constitutional rights of parents under the 4th and 14th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution.  According to the Court, the investigative interview of a child constitutes a “search and seizure” and, when conducted on private property without “consent, a warrant, probable cause, or exigent circumstances,” such an interview is an unreasonable search and seizure in violation of the rights of the parent, child, and, possibly the owner of the private property.

              The mere possibility of danger does not constitute an emergency or exigent circumstance that would justify a forced warrantless entry and a warrantless seizure of a child. Hurlman v. Rice, (2nd Cir. 1991)  A due-process violation occurs when a state-required breakup of a natural family is founded solely on a “best interests” analysis that is not supported by the requisite proof of parental unfitness. Quilloin v. Walcott, 434 U.S. 246, 255, (1978)

    http://www.parentsinaction.net/english/Legal/KnowYourFamilyRights.htm

     CPS does not have a legal right to conduct an investigation of alleged child abuse or neglect in a private home without your consent.  In fact, removing a child from your home without your consent even for several hours is a “seizure” under federal law.  Speaking to your children without your consent is also a “seizure” under the law.  If CPS cannot support a warrant and show that the child is in imminent danger along with probable cause, CPS cannot enter your home and speak with your children.  Remember, anonymous calls into CPS are NEVER probable cause under the Warrant Clause.  And even if they got a name and number from the reporter on the end of the phone, that also does not support probable cause under the law.  CPS must by law, investigate the caller to determine to see if he or she is the person who they say they are and that what they said is credible.  The call alone, standing by itself, is insufficient to support probable cause under the law.  Many bogus calls are made by disgruntle neighbors, ex spouses, someone wanting to get revenge so CPS needs to show due diligence as do police to get sworn statements.

    ACCESSING YOUR CHILD’S RECORD

    Your children’s records are protected by FERPA and HIPAA regarding your children’s educational and medical records.  They need a lawful warrant like the police under the “warrant clause” in order to seize any records.  If your child school records contain medical records, then HIPAA also applies.  When the school or doctor sends records to CPS or allows them to view them without your permission, both the sender and receiver violated the law.

    http://www.parentsinaction.net/english/Legal/KnowYourFamilyRights.htm

  • What Happened To the Notion, “Parents Know Best”

    We are witnessing a drastic erosion of public support for the idea that ordinary parents are the people most likely to know what is best for their children. Sadly we live in a time in which it is argued that, to protect the human rights of kids, we must take away the rights of their parents to raise them.  Could this thought come from a society in which children are objects that impede our career success and prosperity? Is our offspring to merely be tolerated until that magic number 18 when they are considered an adult? The Government tells us that Doctors and school teachers know better how to care and educate our children than parents. There are many examples of the attempt to legally reduce authority and control of parents in medical and educational decisions. 

    We’ve all heard about folks who call the authorities because a neighbor has allowed children to play in their own fenced-in backyard without adult supervision. More examples abound. For instance, if your child is older than 12, it is illegal for your child’s doctor to tell you if your child is receiving mental health care, being treated for drug or alcohol abuse, or being given contraception or an abortion unless your child agrees to share this information with you. It is startling to realize that we assume children are more likely to be harmed by fear of parental interference than by making important decisions about mind and body-altering drugs without parental guidance.

    In the realm of education, parents who want to control or at least influence the values taught to their children—especially in health and literature classes—often meet accusations of censorship and bigotry. Discussions of young adult literature regularly affirm the idea that parents must stop trying to protect their children from a violent and sexually explicit material. The tension can even reach heights of comic proportion, as when the Idaho School Board Association issued a resolution plaintively calling on the state legislature to stop increasing “parental rights in regard to education,” lest parental demands interfere with schools’ attempts to comply with state and federal mandates. Resolution from the ISBA came just months after Idaho lawmakers passed House Bill 113a,  a measure inserting parental rights into the state code.


    Parents have Responsibilities to their children, not “rights” over them. 

    Opponents of traditional parental rights claim the old ideas treat children as parental property instead of free human beings. The practical implication is that the state is a more trustworthy guardian than parents—or, at least, that state intervention can place parent and child on equal footing with each other. This is in stark contrast to a 1925 Supreme Court declaration that parents have the right to direct the education and upbringing of their offspring because children are not “the mere creature[s] of the state.”

    Parents know best. It’s State agencies that are the primary cause abuse to families and children. 

    Forty years ago a landmark piece of legislation passed by Congress and signed into law by President Richard M. Nixon in 1974 called the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) formed what we now call Child Protective Services. The Government was to create an agency to
    1)Protect Children;
    2)Strengthen Families.

    CAPTA’s mandates encompassed all kinds of known and suspected child maltreatment, including physical abuse, sexual abuse, physical neglect, and psychological and emotional maltreatment. CAPTA never defined these terms, however, and there has not been and is not today any widely accepted definition of them even among professionals working in the field. What results are unsubstantiated claims of child abuse. Statistics reveal that throughout almost the entire time that the Mondale Act has been in existence, much more than a majority of child maltreatment reports around the country have been unfounded, and recently there is no question that the percentage has spiked upward even further.

    We now have a situation where a massive state bureaucracy with sweeping coercive power is having millions upon millions of dollars being poured into it each year even though perhaps 85% of its actions are completely unnecessary. The government does not know HOW to parent. This agency can not clearly identify nor resolve child abuse.

    The massive incidence of false abuse/neglect allegations shows that current law and public policy on child abuse and neglect and the routine actions of the CPS are a major threat to the American family today.

    Shouldn’t there be a law to protect parental authority?  
    Idaho statute now defines parental authority under this legal statute 32-1010. PARENTAL RIGHTS PROTECTED with the passage of the bill 113a.

    (1) Parents and legal guardians who have legal custody of minor children have a fundamental right to make decisions concerning the care, custody, education and control of their children.

    (2) The legislature hereby codifies these fundamental rights. Parents and legal guardians shall retain the fundamental rights listed in this section regardless of whether they continue to be recognized or articulated as constitutional rights by federal or state courts.

    (3) This section’s codification of parents’ and legal guardians’ fundamental rights as now recognized by law shall not be construed to limit any parent or guardian from exercising additional rights under the constitution and laws of the United States or of Idaho.

    This bill (that was eventually voted into law) was sponsored by Representative Janet Trujillo and Senator Sheryl Nuxoll

    We must now be ever watchful and make sure that this statute is not modified or manipulated to infer that the Civil Government has lawful authority over our families, our parenting style or our children.

    We must NOT allow laws to be passed that undermine the value and authority that parents have in our society and on our children. We need to reject the idea that an institution can replace the love and nurturing of a parent in the life of a child. Their value and worth doesn’t come from the state. I would argue, they need to be protected FROM the state.

     read about Why the Parental Rights Amendment is VERY DANGEROUS 

    This article is based on the ideas of author Anna Mussmann from an article for The Federalist,  And from commentary from https://demmelearning.com/learning-blog/trust-parents/?trk_msg=PPH651SVVD2KP  We Need to Trust Parents to Parent Their Children

    https://www.faithandreason.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Mondale-Act-After-Forty-Years_-True.pdf

  • Deceptive ‘Parental Rights Amendment’ will it hand over control of your children to federal government?

    Parental Rights Amendment is it a Trojan horse for government intrusion? The name, “parental rights amendment” (PRA), sounds so good!  A closer look reveals that by enumerating our parental rights and responsibilities in the text of our governing document we are actually delegating authority over our children to the government.

    The Parental Rights Amendment actually strips parents of their God-delegated authority over their children, and transfers that authority to the federal government. 

    See the rights LISTED in the constitution are those few and defined powers that the founders wanted to have power over. These powers ‘we the people’ granted to the government.

    James Madison, Father of our Constitution, says in Federalist No. 45 (3rd para from end):

    “The powers delegated by the proposed Constitution to the federal government are few and defined. Those which are to remain in the State governments are numerous and indefinite. The former will be exercised principally on external objects, as war, peace, negotiation, and foreign commerce; with which last the power of taxation will, for the most part, be connected. The powers reserved to the several States will extend to all the objects which … concern the lives, liberties, and properties of the people, and the internal order, improvement, and prosperity of the State.”

    Do you see? We the People delegated only “few and defined” powers to the federal government over the Country at Large. These are the “enumerated powers” actually listed in the Constitution. 2

    These enumerated powers over the Country at Large concern:

    • Military defense, international commerce & relations;
    • Control of immigration and naturalization of new citizens;
    • Creation of a uniform commercial system: Weights & measures, patents & copyrights, money based on gold & silver, bankruptcy laws, mail delivery & some road building; and
    • With some Amendments, protect certain civil rights and voting rights.

    It is only with respect to the “enumerated powers” that the federal government has lawful authority over the Country at Large. All other powers are “reserved to the several States” and The People. 3

    Parents have Responsibilities to their children, not “rights” over them. The Parental Rights Amendment would transform “families” and “children” from matters over which the federal government now has no lawful authority to matters under the total control of the federal government.

    We have to undo the brainwashing that has happened to us. They have taught us to believe that laws protect us so that we will rally for them.  The Civil Government has no lawful authority over our families, our parenting style or our children. By adding and defining “parental rights” to the constitution, be default, adds power to the federal government authority over our children. If we give over our God-given authority over our children to the government, we can never get that back. Parents are supposed to provide for, care for, teach, protect, and educate their children. NOT civil government! The Parental Rights Amendment is a delegation of lawmaking power over families and children to the federal government. Congress may make whatever laws it pleases pertaining to YOUR children; the Executive Branch may issue whatever rules or orders it pleases pertaining to YOUR children – and under Section 3 of the Parental Rights Amendment, federal judges will decide whether these laws, orders & rules serve the government’s interest. If so, you lose.

    The Ninth Amendment, or Amendment IX of the United States Constitution is the section of the Bill of Rights that states that there are other rights that may exist aside from the ones explicitly mentioned, and even though they are not listed, it does not mean they can be violated. Parental rights are our inalienable rights. It’s like my right to breathe. Some people may say that it adds to climate change so I should breath less often.  Am I going to request a law to protect my right to breath? No, because it’s my inalienable right to breath.  

    Do you believe that our forefathers left parental rights out of the Constitution by accident? Did they forget? Did they not see the need?  I don’t believe that is the case.  I believe they were meant to be sacred and untouched by lawmakers and they made this point resoundingly clear by not addressing these God-given rights in the Constitution. If this is added to the Constitution our parental rights will be open for debate and interpretation. My belief is that instead of trying to legislate freedom (which is an oxymoron) we remember that We The People are the government and take it back. 

    “There are two potential violators of man’s rights: the criminals and the government. The greatest achievement of the United States was to draw a distinction between these two — by forbidding to the second the legalized version of the activities of the first.”3

    We’ve allowed scoundrels to represent us because we voted them in. I believe the way that we win this war is to hold to the rights that they fear the most, our God-given rights, and take back our government by voting in liberty lovers. When we battle with our God-given rights we are above the law made by men. If we succumb to their battlefield we will lose.

    This may not be the popular opinion. It is not the quick fix that we all want but I do believe that it is the only way that we actually win.

    Don’t be duped into giving your parental authority to the federal government. The Parental Rights Amendment is NOT the answer.

    Miste Karlfeldt,
    Executive Director

    https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/senate-joint-resolution/48/text

  • Faith in Medicine: the 3rd Leading Cause of Death

    The Legislature is being pressured by out of state vaccine advocate Paul Offit and local organizations with the intent is to create a law that would prosecute parents who choose alternative methods of treatment for their sick children. Health Freedom Idaho is grateful that our Legislators have said, year after year, that laws are already in place under Child Protective Services and mandated reporting are adequate to protect children from abuse. November 17, 2017 KIVI news reported that this topic will again be brought up again in the 2018 Legislative session. 

    Health Freedom Idaho will be there again to address this topic. The legislation that has been brought to date, and voted down, proposed increased mandated reporting by Doctors and healthcare workers, increased CPS supervision of families, and a decrease in parental choice in health care options.  <see Faith Healing Exemption> 

    There are concerns by many citizens of Idaho that the Legislature will put in a place a statute that will increase false allegations of “abuse” and erode parental authority in the health choice of their children.  Legislators have been reminded that receiving medical treatment at a doctor’s office or hospital does not ensure health or healing. It does not guarantee longevity or of lack of suffering. Millions of other parents hold faith in modern medicine, yet are not punished when a treatment fails and their child is subsequently injured or killed.

    This leads to three important points: 

    • A study conducted by Johns Hopkins researchers points to medical error as the third leading cause of death in the U.S. 1
    • Looking to malpractice figures in Idaho, we see hundreds of doctors and nurses have erred in providing care to patients resulting in license suspension and revocation. Other research has revealed that, medical error by pediatric hospital staff is as high as 67%. 2
    • Idaho has no program in place to report adverse events and medical errors. Without the tracking of these vital statistics, Idaho doctors and hospitals can shield their fatal lapses in care, diagnostic mistakes, and dosage errors from public scrutiny. Some of these errors are FATAL.

    When a child died after being given the wrong dosage of medicine by St. Lukes Hospital in Idaho, the nurse was NOT prosecuted because his intent was not to kill the child. 

    Why would the State want to hold parents to a different standard when parents choose alternative means of care (including prayer) when treating their child’s illness? 

    Third Leading Cause of Death MEDICAL ERROR

    A study by researchers at Johns Hopkins Medicine says medical errors should rank as the third leading cause of death in the United States — and highlights how shortcomings in tracking vital statistics may hinder research and keep the problem out of the public eye.

    The authors, led by Johns Hopkins surgeon Dr. Martin Makary, call for changes in death certificates to better tabulate fatal lapses in care. In an open letter, they urge the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to immediately add medical errors to its annual list reporting the top causes of death.

    Johns Hopkins study conservatively estimates that more than 251,000 Americans die each year from medical errors. On the CDC’s official list, that would rank just behind heart disease and cancer and in front of respiratory disease.

    Medical mistakes that can lead to death range from surgical complications that go unrecognized to mix-ups with the doses or types of medications patients receive. But no one knows the exact toll taken by medical errors. In significant part, that’s because the coding system used by CDC to record death certificate data doesn’t capture things like communication breakdowns, diagnostic errors and poor judgment that cost lives, the study says.

    How does this affect Idaho? 

    Idaho doesn’t track medical errors. In fact, it took a special task force called by the Governor to track the causes of death in infants and children in the past several years. Medical errors can be easily covered and ignored by hospital administration, staff and left hidden from the public. 

    Occasionally a heart breaking story is revealed that leaves one to question our society’s unwavering ‘faith’ in modern medicine. 4

    St. Luke’s: Nurse’s Medication Error Resulted in Child Fatality 

    One week after confirming an infant died at St. Luke’s Magic Valley Medical Center after receiving the wrong medication, hospital officials said Oct. 2 the 7-month-old died when he received a dose of saline solution infused with potassium phosphate intended for an adult patient.

    A family attorney revealed the child’s name as August Elliot.

    “One of our nurses prepared the adult patient’s medication solution at the nurse’s station,” the hospital said in the statement. “Sometime later, another nurse mistook that prepared bag as the one to be used for the child, took it into August’s room and administered it. Approximately 10 minutes later, August went into cardiac arrest and we began resuscitation efforts. Thirteen minutes into that effort, another nurse read the label on the bag and realized August was receiving the wrong medication.”

    Hospital officials wrote in a statement: “We missed at least one part of the standard procedure of administering medication,” and they were tightening their internal processes to minimize any chance of human error in the future.

    DUE TO THE FACT THAT THE FATAL DOSE WAS GIVEN IN ERROR – The nurse wasn’t charged with a criminal act. (Which brings into question the legislative need to criminalize the behavior of parents who do not intend on doing harm to their children when they choose alternative course of treatment (including prayer) for their children’s illness.

    The Twin Falls Times-News reports the findings from the hospital’s investigation have been forwarded to the nation’s top hospital accreditation board and the Twin Falls County Coroner.

    1. 3rd Leading Cause of Death Medical Error https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2016/05/03/476636183/death-certificates-undercount-toll-of-medical-errors

    https://www.bmj.com/content/353/bmj.i2139.full

    Pediatric Staff admits errors as much as 67%
    from the Nursing Certification review Manual Continuing Education Resource Clinical Practice Resource

    2. Stratton, Biegen, Pepper and Vaughn 2004 conducted a descriptive study that surveyed a convenience sample of 57 pediatric-care and 227 adult care hospital nurses regarding medication errors reported on their units, examining why medication error occur, and why medication errors are not always reported. This study primarily focused on pediatric data with a comparison of adult acute care nurses. Pediatric nurse indicated that a higher proportion of errors were reported compared with adult care. 67% pediatric care errors compared to 56% adult care.)

    3 http://www.thornton-health.com/articles/drs_cause_death.shtml 

    This information is a followup of the Institute of Medicine report the data was hard to reference as it was not in peer-reviewed journal. Now it is published in JAMA which is the most widely circulated medical periodical in the world.

    The author or the originally reference studies Dr. Barbara Starfield of the Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health and she describes how the US health care system may contribute to poor health.

    4 http://www.kmvt.com/content/news/Prosecutor-will-not-file-charges-in-infants-death-at-St-Lukes-Hospital-367063101.html 

    FOLLOW UP: http://www.ktvb.com/news/local/family-sues-nurse-healthcare-company-after-babys-death-at-st-lukes/311329841

  • Court Says Child Welfare Agency Cannot Vaccinate Children In State Custody Without Parental Consent

    HFI Connecticut: Court Says Child Welfare Agency Cannot Vaccinate Children In State Custody Without Parental Consent. Texas too has a bill in place about keeping foster children from forced vaccinations.

    “Immunizations do not qualify as emergency care. No vaccine cures a disease,” Zedler said.

    His amendment was adopted in a 74-58 vote, something Wu said would set a “dangerous precedent.” Under current law, biological parents have the final say as to whether their child gets vaccinated. HB 39 tentatively passed the House in a 120-15 vote.

     This should be true in every single state! Parental Rights MUST BE PROTECTED! There are too many times that children are removed from their parents, placed in temporary custody and before any court decisions are made on behalf or against the parents. Children are force vaccinated against parents express wishes. 
     
    Connecticut Supreme Court Says Child Welfare Agency Cannot Vaccinate Children In State Custody Without Parental Consent

    The state Supreme Court ventured into the area of child inoculations Friday, ruling that the state cannot vaccinate neglected children placed in temporary state custody if the parents object.

    The court did not address the efficacy of vaccinations. Rather, the unanimous decision by seven justices turned narrowly on the definition of the words “medical care” in a state law authorizing the Department of Children and Families to look after the health needs of children committed to its custody.

    The department argued to the court that vaccinations fall within its authority to give medical care to children in its custody because vaccinations ”mitigate” against the possibility of contracting a disease. The justices, however, agreed with the parents, who argued that the common meaning meaning of “medical treatment” permits the state to administer emergency care without parental consent only for immediate health problems.

    “If there is no emergency, the state cannot intervene over the objection of parents,” said attorney Benjamin M. Wattenmaker, of the Hartford firm Feiner Wolfson, who represented the parents.

    The DCF said it was disappointed by the decision, and that it will seek to amend the law to allow it to vaccinate children, who can be in temporary custody for extended periods

    “We continue to believe in the wisdom of authorizing the Commissioner to vaccinate children in her care,” a department spokesman said in a prepared statement.

    The dispute arose after police in Rocky Hill were called in April 2016 to break up a fight between the unidentified parents of the children, then aged 1 and 2. The parents were arrested on disorderly conduct charges and the police learned that the family had been living in a van for months while traveling between Florida, North Carolina, Colorado, New York and Connecticut.

    A social worker described the children as filthy, covered with bruises and smelling of urine. The department took temporary custody of the children — they remain in temporary state care — and the mother authorized a medical evaluation, which showed no vaccinations.

    The parents said they objected, based on religious belief, to the department’s policy of routine vaccination for common childhood diseases. They moved in court to block vaccinations.

    A Superior Court judge ruled for the state and authorized vaccinations, but was reversed by the Supreme Court Friday.

    Wattenmaker said the children have not been vaccinated.

    Other News Articles about foster children forced vaccinated. Foster parents protecting children from vaccinations. 

    Seattle, Washington: http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/foster-parents-to-forgo-licenses-over-forced-flu-shots/

    This article originally appeared at: http://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-supreme-court-vaccination-20170815-story.html.