December 07, 2011 ( No Comments )

“Of all tyrannies, a tyranny exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron’s cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end, for they do so with the approval of their own conscience.”– C. S. Lewis

In Ohio County, an 8-year-old third-grader weighing more than 200 pounds was taken from his family and placed in foster care because his mother wasn’t doing enough to lessen his weight.

According to Government growth charts, the average weight for an 8-year-old is 60 pounds. The boy taken away is 3 times the normal weight and is at risk of diabetes and high blood pressure. Cuyahoga County’s Children and Family Services removed the boy from his home since his mother, who was told to get her son’s weight down, did nothing to make the boy lose weight. Because of a lack of health concern for her son, the mother was charged with medical neglect and the county was approved by a judge to remove the boy from his home and place him in foster care.

According to Patricia Rideout, an Agency Administrator from Cuyahoga County’s Children and Family Services, that “We have worked very hard with this family for 20 months before it got to this point.” (http://www.masslive.com/talk/index.ssf/2011/11/ohio_county_takes_200-pound_8-.html).

County workers were alerted to the boy’s weight early last year after his mother took him to a hospital for breathing problems (his mother did that? Where were the boys foster parents?). He was diagnosed with sleep apnea, which is characterized by pauses in breathing during sleep and can be weight-related, and he was given a breathing machine.

This case started a debate on whether a parent can lose custody if their child is severely obese.

According to Dr. Naim Alkhouri, “Obesity is an epidemic in the United States. As a society we’re all responsible.” It’s not enough to just encourage some children to eat healthier and exercise, he said, because there’s also ‘a big psychological component.’ “When it comes to involving the authorities, I don’t think we have clear guidelines,” he said. “Starting the debate is a good thing. We need more guidance on how to react to the issue.” (http://www.masslive.com/talk/index.ssf/2011/11/ohio_county_takes_200-pound_8-.html).

Dr. David Ludwig, an obesity specialist at Harvard-affiliated Children’s Hospital Boston, said the point isn’t to blame parents but rather to act in children’s best interest and get them help their parents can’t provide.

According to Dr. Norman Frost, a medical ethicist at the University of Wisconsin’s Madison campus, the goal of putting the boy into foster care is to make him less obese.

The 8 year old is not the only child taken from his parents due to obesity.

The boy’s mother said that she tried to deal with the weight issue and that the county is making it seem as if she doesn’t love her child.

Sam Amata, a public defender for the family said that the custody removal would be challenged based on the contention that the boy is not in imminent danger.

When reading about this story a few thoughts when through my mind. This case isn’t really shocking. The government extends its power on our daily lives all the time. Just last week I read a story about a man who caught an 881 pound tuna fish which was seized by the feds and sold for $396,000 (which the government collects of course) since the fisherman caught the fish with a net instead of a fishing hook. Anyone who truly believes we live in a free society seems to believe what they are told or just doesn’t know what freedom is.

The government doesn’t help people or make our lives better in any way. The government can take away anything it wants from you. There is a law called eminent domain, meaning that the government can take your house if they feel it will be of use to others (both for public use and even can take your home to benefit private businesses). The law of eminent domain says that the government has to give you just compensation for one’s home, but what does that mean? People have more than a monetary connection to their home. Many people built their own house and there are nostalgic memories attached to one’s house than is worth no price. Why should one’s property (and no, a child is not one’s property) be forcibly stripped away from someone just because other people want it?

There is something in America known as civil asset forfeiture, which is that the police can seize any property that is involved in a civil crime and take it. For example, if a person got into a car crash, the police can take a person’s car and not return it. The police don’t have to wait until a person is guilty of the crime (getting charged is enough) and can even keep a person’s belonging’s if the person is acquitted of the crime. If the police have a warrant to find drugs in a person’s house and finds money in their home, the police can take the money as well. An example of this is when police stopped Ethel Hylton at Houston’s Hobby Airport because a police dog scratched her luggage. The police searched Ethel Hylton and didn’t find any drugs. The police did find $39,000 during the search. Ms. Hylton had documents to prove that she got the $39,000 legitimately and was never charged with a crime, but the police took her money anyway. (http://www.isil.org/resources/lit/looting-of-america.html and http://www.progress.org/fold13.htm) Civil asset forfeiture is a terrible law which gives incentives for injustice. By allowing the police to keep property that was accused of being part of a crime, the police have an incentive to search for people to charge and take property from without the police needing a trial to prove the clichéd but untrue myth of “innocent until proven guilty.”

Sorry for going on a tangent but I think it’s important to discuss the corruption in our government. The justice system might call themselves the justice system, but justice is something to discuss. No one has a monopoly on justice. The government might try to delude the public that the courts determine what is just, but courts don’t do that, they only determine what is legal (legal for the citizens, the government doesn’t have to follow the laws they make their citizens follow).

According to Dr. Naim Alkhouri, severe obesity doesn’t only cause health problems but psychological problems. Does Mr. Alkhouri not believe that a child being forcibly being taken away from their parents won’t cause psychological problems? Imagine the trauma the poor child must feel and the hatred of the government he must feel as a result of being taken away from his family. I agree that it’s a parents responsibility to take care of their child and for parents to allow their child to become so overweight is a problem that should be discussed. The parents are not forcing their child to be obese and it’s not the job of the government to intrude on every aspect of our lives. The government can’t just take away a child from his parents because the government doesn’t approve of the parent’s actions. The government aren’t gods that are the ultimate arbitrators that get to control every part of our lives. The job of the government is to protect us from aggression and to allow us to be free and lives our lives according to our own value systems not to vote away and take away our rights; that is a corrupt government.

Let me just leave you with 3 more quotes to ponder:

“The more corrupt the state, the more it legislates.”– Tacitus

“The urge to save humanity is almost always a false front for the urge to rule.”– H.L. Mencken

And my favorite, which I wish those removing the child from his parents would consider: “The triumph of persuasion over force is the sign of a civilized society.” – Mark Skousen

The staff at Gary Rome Auto Group would love to hear your thoughts on this story. Do you think the government did the right thing by moving the obese child into foster care? Do you think the government should do something when parent’s children are severely obese? Do you feel there are other ways to solve this problem of childhood obesity that don’t involve force? If so, what?