© Natural Society
Ohio social workers have taken a 200-pound third-grader from his parents and placed him in foster care, where children are given as many harmful antipsychotics as the mentally disabled. The government workers said that his mother was not doing enough to lower his weight, clearly deeming her an irresponsible parent.
State officials reported that this is the first case of a child being put in foster care over a weight-related issue in Ohio. The 8-year-old was considered to be severely obese and subsequently at risk for the development of diseases like diabetes and hypertension. However, the county in which the boy lived in, Cuyahoga County, does not have a specific policy on dealing with obese children.
According to a spokesman for the Department of Children and Family Services, the child was a victim of 'medical neglect' as his mother ignored the instructions of a doctor to help control his weight.
"This child's problem was so severe that we had to take custody," the spokesman said. The agency worked with the mother for more than a year before asking Juvenile Court for custody of the child, she said.The lawyers for the mother argue that while intervention is necessary, obesity is not grounds to pull a child from his family and place him into foster care.
"I think we would concede that some intervention is appropriate," Juvenile Public Defender Sam Amata said. "But what risk became imminent? When did it become an immediate problem?"Beyond the arguments of both parties lies an even greater question: will foster care ruin the health of this third-grader far more than his original lifestyle, or help him?
Comment: "That image was cemented after al-Qaida's chief Osama bin Laden was found to have been hiding in an army town close to the Pakistani capital when he was killed."