Newborn Seized in Hospital by Police, Social Worker

[Jen Muise]

This is completely outrageous, if it happened like they report.  Does anyone know anything about this?  http://hslda.org/hs/state/pa/201203270.asp

[Tigerchild]

I don't think this is a reliable source.  I think I would take any 'article' written by this group/person without any references to outside documentation extremely well salted.

[angelpie545]

I've heard conflicting things about the HSLDA.  It's possible that the story could have happened just like that, and of course that would be outrageous.  However, considering the source, I'm keeping an open mind.

[crunchy_mommy]

It does seem like something is missing, the story doesn't quite add up to me. If this is true & exactly how it happened, it's just plain sickening.

[sk8boarder15]

Here is another source. http://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/mother-who-questions-vax-at-hospital-has-newborn-taken-away/

[4evermom]

Originally Posted by sk8boarder15 

Here is another source. http://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/mother-who-questions-vax-at-hospital-has-newborn-taken-away/

That's actually the same source since it's only source is the HSLDA article... And since the HSLDA makes a profit from people being scared and joining their organization, it isn't the best source of info...

[Evan&Anna's_Mom]

I would definitely take this with a grain of salt.  First, both stories are clearly written from the same source.  I would guess that the blog story (the second one) is written from the first story.  Too many phrases are the same.  Second, the hospital is associated with the state university, but I can't see how this is a "government run" facility.  It is privately funded and has a board of directors and trustees.  The fact that is being distorted makes me think the whole thing is written with an agenda in mind.  Third, how is the fact that this is a "homeschooling" family relevant at all?  They went in and announced "we are a home-schooling, non-vaxing family" in the middle of a birth?  Somehow I doubt it.

It is a sad fact that hospitals and doctors get sued all the time for really silly things.  Its no surprise that every medical facility will take great steps to protect itself from this.  Even if they did nothing wrong, its expensive to either defend of settle just to get the suit to go away.  So probably they did want to keep the baby for observation for a time.  I'm not sure that is wrong.  And they might have gotten conflicting reports of the baby's health -- it happens.  And if there was a social worker called, I suspect that it only happened after the family said or did something that the hospital felt was threatening.  Again, major CYA sure, but not necessarily the wrong answer.

All in all, this seems like a very one-sided story with lots of slant to it.  I'm not buying it as reported.

[OkiMom]

Ok, so I looked over what the hospital says about it.. First, this is over 2 years old but was just recently filed as a suit. Second they said it violated their patient confidentiality to talk about what happened but they followed were "medically and legally appropriate".. Its interesting that they waited this long to file suit. You better believe if someone tried to seize my baby for no reason Id be filing a lot sooner than 2 years later..

I'm not sure if its true or not but I do wonder about why it took so long to file and why is a home school defense network running this case..

[slmommy]

http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2012/03/williamstown_couple_sues_penn.html

[Caneel]

Originally Posted by slmommy 

http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2012/03/williamstown_couple_sues_penn.html

Read through the comments, seems the mother has issues at her child's school also.

[4evermom]

Huh, wonder what this has to do with being homeschoolers, then.

Originally Posted by Caneel 

Read through the comments, seems the mother has issues at her child's school also.

http://republicanherald.com/news/police-log-sept-28-2011-1.1210066

School trespass nets charges

WILLIAMSTOWN - A 33-year-old Williamstown woman was arrested by state police at Lykens and charged with criminal trespass and disorderly conduct after an incident at Williams Valley Elementary School in Porter Township at 8:17 a.m. Sept. 21.

Troopers said Jodi Lynn Ferris will have to answer to the charges before Magisterial District Judge Carol A. Pankake, Tremont.

Ferris, troopers said, remained on school grounds after being repeatedly told to leave and yelled at her 11-year-old daughter on school grounds.

[Alphaghetti]

Dunno...I find it all to be very hard to believe. One person messes up? THAT I can believe. But from what these parents are alleging, everyone they came into contact with during their hospital stay has mistreated them and been medically negligent.

[Caneel]

Originally Posted by Alphaghetti 

Dunno...I find it all to be very hard to believe. One person messes up? THAT I can believe. But from what these parents are alleging, everyone they came into contact with during their hospital stay has mistreated them and been medically negligent.

I am going to need to watch the Patriot (generally a good, unbiased source) for news about this case.  People come from all over the east coast (and maybe the country) to get treated at that hospital.  There is a large Mennonite and Amish population in that area so the staff, in general, should be familar with people outside of mainstream life.  There was a big feature in the NYTimes a year or so ago about the large number of Amish families that come there for treatment of genetic diseases.

[OkiMom]

I think it would be "easier" to believe if it was one person (a doctor or a social worker) that messed up.. but to say everyone in the hospital, the social workers and the police messed up. That seems to be a lot of messing up. I would think someone would have thought "hey something isn't right here"..

Ive refused vaxes at a military hospital with no issues. The midwife even mentioned i was the first person she knew to refuse vaxes in the 3 1/2 years she worked there but they had no problems with it. I know its a different hospital but if a military hospital didn't have issues I would think a hospital with a broad clientele wouldn't have issues.

[crunchy_mommy]

Originally Posted by Alphaghetti 

Dunno...I find it all to be very hard to believe. One person messes up? THAT I can believe. But from what these parents are alleging, everyone they came into contact with during their hospital stay has mistreated them and been medically negligent.

That part I can believe. My own DS's birth experience was horrific, and it was all because one person relayed one bit of information that biased the way ALL the staff treated me (OK not every single one of them but 9 out of 10!) I've never been stereotyped so badly in my life, and everyone from the nurses to the doctors to the social worker were against me. Fortunately it didn't get to the extreme of what happened to this family, but it doesn't seem all that far-fetched that it could blow so out of proportion. (And, for the record, no I had never harmed someone, done drugs, etc. it was just a tiny bit of largely irrelevant info from my past.)

What I have a hard time with is the vagueness of the article, there seems to be no logical explanation, nothing to pinpoint, something they are hiding... And yeah, if the mom is also getting kicked out of her kid's school, there's probably something more going here...