Child Protection: Parents Without Rights

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This seems to be becoming a recurring story, a child is removed from a loving home where no crime has been committed- the baby, who came early, was born at home... at a home where the parents are poor. The result: Seven children were legally kidnapped from loving parents. Given the frequency of this happening, it begs the question do parents have any legal rights to their children at all? 

A Florida couple is devastated. Child Protective Services just took their breastfeeding newborn from her mother’s arms at the hospital. She was is not even two days old, but parents Tracey and Freddie Verzosa of Kissimmee, Florida will now only be able to visit their baby for feedings, under supervision. The accusations against them, according to the parents’ story, boil down to the facts that Tracey is a slow learner, they are poor, and the baby was born too quickly for them to make it to the hospital. 

In many states a disability, such as a learning disability, is grounds for removing children from a loving home. This harkens back to the 1920's and 30's when eugenics, the pop psychology fad of the time, led to tens of thousands of American women being sterilized for "mental illness." In other words, the elitists who know better than the rest of us, determined who was fit to have children and who was not. This fad spread to Europe and became the basis for the Nazi T-4 program that led to the deaths of millions. The road to hell is indeed paved with bad intentions (hubris).

In the case of the Veroza's their other six children were removed as well. As is inevitably the case, once CPS gets their hooks into a family they never let up. The Veroza's children were ordered into daycare where one fell and injured his face requiring a CAT scan. What do you suppose was the consequences for the daycare facility... you guessed it- none! Because they have no transportation, the Verozas had problems making routine vaccinations and doctors appointments. This is not to say they didn't go- they just arrived late... this caused them to have all seven of their children removed at gunpoint. Where are their parental rights? Since when is poverty a crime?

 Additionally, legal scholars can find no “parental rights” within the Constitution. According to Parental Rights.org, federal judges are:

“citing a mounting belief that no right can be protected by the federal courts unless explicitly stated in the Constitution … Parental rights violations are on the increase across the country, as courts exchange parental involvement for government control in the lives of America’s children.”

In the case of  Troxel v. Granville (2000) the Supreme Court created a "presumption" that fit parents act in the best interests of their children. However, a presumption is not a law. In fact in the same case Justice Scalia wrote that there is no Constitutional right protecting parenthood. Historically, courts err on the side of protecting the child and have taken it to extremes. In another case a woman " left her four-year-old unattended in a car for a few minutes on a mild day, the police were called, she found herself charged with a crime…. [Her lawyer] warned her that “juvenile courts are notorious for erring on the side of protecting the child” and suggested that fighting the case might lead her to lose her child. Faced with that possibility she, of course, folded. Anyone would… " 

Typically vaguely worded child welfare statutes give bureaucrats wide discretion that they sometimes exert in ways that punish perfectly reasonable and safe parenting practices. Without accountability and fueled by federal money, state CPS actions may become, and some would argue already are, those of a lawless tyrant.

Despite this, a growing movement of parents, grandparents, whistle blowers, former foster children and lawyers are rallying to demand reform. There are a number of solutions to the abuses within the CPS/foster care system and through concerned citizens’ efforts, awareness of CPS abuses is growing. 

The only ones that can stop CPS and the tyrannical bureaucracy that supports them is: We The People. Corrupt politicians do not willingly relinquish power.

Individually we are weak but together we are strong. We may have different backgrounds, races, religions and financial status but we are all parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc..

 Children yanked from loving homes over and over again for the flimsiest of reasons. Parents desperately seeking to bring them home as their rights are trampled, their homes overrun, their lives disrupted, their reputations smeared, their savings bankrupted. Foster care and adoptions ramrodded through the system despite willing extended family members to take them in. And worst, children are lost for years within the foster system, over-drugged, abused, even trafficked into horrible situations. All of these have been documented by Health Impact News at MedicalKidnap.com, as well as many others. Another resource is parentalrights.org. We are not alone. 

 Here are three things that everyone who cares about families can do TODAY:

• Call, write or email your state and national congressmen and women. Start a dialogue with them about CPS in your state. This article lists a number of ways in which CPS should change. Share this with them. They don’t hear from many of us “ordinary citizens,” so when you call, they will notice. Especially if you continue to follow up with them over time.
• Call, write or email your local media (TV, radio, print). Encourage them to cover a specific family story in your city or state. If there isn’t one currently, suggest that they begin an investigation of CPS. Share the information in this article regarding the many ways the system is broken. Continue to follow up when there are families whose stories should be shared.
• Organize. Talk to your friends, find others who have similar concerns. Then begin to brainstorm ways you can bring attention to this twisted, bizarre kangaroo court that profits on the backs of children and destroys families.

When a family is in trouble, go to court on their behalf... you don't need to testify, just organize outside the building (it's public property). Show up in numbers, be visible but polite... show them you are watching and paying attention. Like cockroaches they fear the light. They operate in secret because they know that what they are doing is wrong. Sunlight is the best disinfectant!

 All it takes for evil to prevail is for good people to do nothing. 

http://medicalkidnap.com/2015/03/12/breastfeeding-2-day-old-newborn-seized-from-parents-because-mother-has-disability/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2015/04/21/how-the-legal-system-ignores-the-constitutional-rights-of-parents/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.3478d51714ca

http://medicalkidnap.com/2015/10/06/child-protection-services-is-out-of-control-what-ordinary-citizens-can-do-about-it/