Canadian Politics Today

Beyond Politics => General Discussion => Topic started by: Squidward von Squidderson on September 19, 2019, 04:44:13 pm


Title: A win for anti-vaxxers and their ilk
Post by: Squidward von Squidderson on September 19, 2019, 04:44:13 pm
cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/david-collet-stephan-ezekiel-trial-decision-1.5288343

Quote
An Alberta couple who treated their son's illness with natural remedies rather than take him to a doctor have been found not guilty in the toddler's death after a retrial by judge alone.

David and Collet Stephan were tried on charges of failing to provide the necessaries of life to 19-month-old Ezekiel, who died in 2012.

------------------

It was the second trial for the Stephans, who were found guilty by a Lethbridge jury in 2016. While the Alberta Court of Appeal upheld the conviction, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled the original trial judge erred in his instructions to the jury.

What a terrible decision.  Letting your child suffer and die instead of taking him to a hospital is the height of neglect. 
Title: Re: A win for anti-vaxxers and their ilk
Post by: kimmy on September 19, 2019, 08:04:41 pm
I hate it.

 -k
Title: Re: A win for anti-vaxxers and their ilk
Post by: Super Colin Blow on September 20, 2019, 06:18:05 am
Thank you again Jenny McCarthy and friends.
Title: Re: A win for anti-vaxxers and their ilk
Post by: Goddess on September 20, 2019, 11:13:59 am
I'm extremely disappointed in this verdict.  It has implications for other religions - like the JW's who refuse blood transfusions for their children.
Title: Re: A win for anti-vaxxers and their ilk
Post by: kimmy on September 20, 2019, 11:44:22 am
So reading this over, it looks like the judge ruled that he couldn't be sure that the child had bacterial rather than viral meningitis, which means that it is possible that medical intervention might not have saved the child anyway.


So it's not really an endorsement of the right of parents to do nothing or use fake **** to treat illnesses, it's just a conclusion that the judge isn't sure that the child's death could have been prevented if the parents had done something sooner.

 -k
Title: Re: A win for anti-vaxxers and their ilk
Post by: Squidward von Squidderson on September 20, 2019, 01:44:25 pm
So reading this over, it looks like the judge ruled that he couldn't be sure that the child had bacterial rather than viral meningitis, which means that it is possible that medical intervention might not have saved the child anyway.


So it's not really an endorsement of the right of parents to do nothing or use fake **** to treat illnesses, it's just a conclusion that the judge isn't sure that the child's death could have been prevented if the parents had done something sooner.

 -k

Viral meningitis doesn't have a cure, but treatment with anti-virals and IV fluids, etc. usually saves someone's life.   So the judge is completely out to lunch on that.   When your kid is sick, you still bring them to the hospital.

It's like saying if your kid has AIDS, it's good enough to do some voodoo, rather than bringing them to the doctor, because there's no cure.
Title: Re: A win for anti-vaxxers and their ilk
Post by: Goddess on September 20, 2019, 04:08:11 pm
  So the judge is completely out to lunch on that.   

I agree.

"Your child would have died anyways" doesn't seem right to me.  The parents didn't know that when they were denying him medical treatment.

That's like shooting someone and then getting off because the autoposy showed the person had a terminal disease.