Epidemic of quack theories

*It’s a FRAUD

*What is “medical abuse” (MA)?

*The more appropriate question would be “where did this theory come from?

*The long story short? It’s just another name for the same quackery of “Munchausen’s Syndrome by Proxy.” (MSBP)

*Compare this http://pediatrics.uchicago.edu/chiefs/CPS/documents/AAPMunchausen.pdf

*With this

*…oh, my! The AsherMeadow website is gone!

*Where did the idea of “MA” come from?

*The American Academy of Pediatrics sites the work of Prof. Roy Meadow, who is credited for the “discovery” of MSBP.

*The contents of the presentation (see link previous slide) Medical Child Abuse, A New Perspective on Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy, uses the same bs “criteria” that Meadow and countless others have used for several decades.

*Who is Roy Meadow?

*In my case, Dr. P. Siegal explained it like this:

*Prof. Roy Meadow was a pediatric phrenologist.

*There were children in his practice that had complaints he could not figure out.

*He had an “Ah-ha moment” (seriously, the “expert” used that exact statement in her testimony) and “decided the mothers must be lying.”

*And there birthed the idea of MSBP.

*What is phrenology?

Before we go on it is important to understand that Meadow was a quack from the beginning.

* In short: Phrenology is a process that involved the observing and-or feeling the skull to determine an individual's psychological attributes.(*was also used in medicine)

*And, Although now regarded as an obsolete amalgamation of primitive neuroanatomy with moral philosophy, phrenological thinking has been influential in 19th-century psychiatry and modern neuroscience. … especially from about 1810 until 1840….

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phrenology)

*Who is Roy Meadow?

In other words, Meadow was never an expert on anything but quackery.

However, his testimony in many cases caused not only innocent mothers to be imprisoned, but also destroyed their reputations, their family relationships and more.

Remember Sally Clark?

http://www.theguardian.com/uk/sally-clark

*What happened to Meadow?

*Finally, after years of protest and over 50 signatures imploring the Crown’s Court to investigate Meadow:

*(The House) …deplores the decision of the Crown Prosecution Service…; and calls for an urgent review of all cases in which Professor Meadow has given evidence….”

(Printable Early Day Motion 1413, UK; 2003)

*And then…

* http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCA/Civ/2006/1390.htm

*Finally…

*Meadow, along with David Southall and some others, were restricted from practice and reprimanded because of “providing false evidence.”

*In other words, his quack theory got exposed.

*But, in the US (and other countries) more quacks were hot at work remodeling this

very same theory.

*To name a few

*Dr. Patricia Siegel and Dr. Anna Marie Church were members of the “Governor’s Task Force on Child Abuse and Neglect” for Michigan.

*Michigan is a waiver state, in other words they can use federal tax dollars intended for the “care” of kids in custody pretty much how ever they choose.

*Michigan is also a state that develops programs and training for other states’ child abuse agencies, hospitals, et al, all over the US (receives additional funds for this).

*These two doctors were further supported by Betty Ford Hospital, MI Detroit Children’s Hospital and the University of MI Hospital.

In other words, their quackery was well-funded and well-spread.

*A lie by any other name is still a lie.

*However, Siegel and Church used the term “Pediatric Condition Falsification.”

*Still rooted in Meadow’s “discovery” and “criteria”, only the name and professed prevalence changed.

*Nowadays, obviously, the quacks prefer the term “Medical Abuse.”

*How it works.Table from: Problems with the Diagnosis of

Factitious Disorder by Proxy in Forensic Settings, Eric G. Mart

*In other words…

*Doctors, social workers, and other professionals are “trained” to “see the signs” of this quackery.

*There are literally billions of our tax dollars doled out to hospitals, doctors, child service agencies, etc., in support of the façade of “child protection.”

*So, they “see the signs”, take your child and cause you to try and prove your innocence—while they (collectively, “the system”) gain thousands of dollars per child stolen.

* Remember “The Emperor's New Clothes?

Pic from: http://www.indymedia.ie/article/100542

*In conclusion.

*Medical Abuse

*Pediatric Condition Falsification

*Factious Disorder by Proxy

*Munchausen’s Syndrome by Proxy

*Whatever flavor of the month

It’s ALL the same damned quackery! And it is only about the money.But, just like the townspeople in the story, no one will stand up and admit the facts: It just plain does not exist.

*Don’t take my word for it.

*“The literature on MSBP Syndrome is replete with warnings that only those doctors and scientists who are well versed in the supposed permutations of this ‘disorder’ can see it.”

(Disordered Mother or Disordered Diagnosis, by David Allison & Mark Roberts)

*And lastly…for now.

*“A number of courts have ruled that the use of the MSBP diagnosis is not admissible in court. These include Martinez v. United States of America, State v. Lumbrera, and Commonwealth v. Robinson. …in the matter of the State of Florida v. Kathleen Bush, the same argument is being put forward.”

*“It is argued…expert testimony in relation to MSBP is unreliable.”

(False Accusations of MSBP, by Dr. Helen Hayward-Brown)

*So then, why is no one saying

anything?

So, here we have in short:

*In the UK, the quackery’s source was deemed a fraud.

*In several instances in the US, though well-hushed, it has been declared to have failed the Daubert Test (See Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharm Inc.)

*The quacks have changed the name several times to avoid being exposed.

…YET the “fruit of the poisonous tree” is still being used to destroy the lives of precious children and their families.

*Stay tuned.

*While you wait for more, check this out…http://www.msbp.com/

And say a prayer for Philip’s mother while you’re there.