Montana removes 27 children from youth treatment ranch, alleging 'egregious' abuse

Authorities have removed 27 children from a youth treatment facility in northwest Montana, citing "consistent and chronic allegations" of medical neglect and physical and psychological abuse.

The state Department of Public Health and Human Services said it had suspended the license of the Ranch for Kids in Rexford, in Lincoln County near Kootenai National Forest along the Canadian border, "to prevent future abuse."

"The 27 children that were removed are now at a safe location," the agency said in a statement on Tuesday. "They are receiving medical care. The details of their care and condition are confidential."

Montana removes 27 children from youth treatment ranch, alleging 'egregious' abuse

Banner loses legal case that pitted religious beliefs against science

The parents of a 14-year-old boy with bone cancer won a legal challenge against a Mesa hospital that attempted to override their religious objections to blood transfusions.

The Arizona Court of Appeals on Tuesday ruled that a lower court's emergency hotline used by hospitals to authorize medical treatment on behalf of patients is not allowed under state law.

The parents of a 14-year-old boy with bone cancer challenged Banner Cardon Children's use of a Maricopa County Superior Court emergency hotline to authorize blood transfusions on behalf of the child. The parents and boy are Jehovah's Witnesses and objected to blood transfusions on religious grounds. 

While Banner Cardon's medical-treatment plan initially consisted of alternative therapies to fit the parents' religious views, hospital staff later determined that blood transfusions were medically necessary. 

Hospital staff called the Maricopa County Superior Court hotline multiple times from October through December last year to seek authorization for the blood transfusions. The court granted three of five requests, according to court documents.

The parents filed a petition with the Arizona Court of Appeals seeking to halt the transfusions.   

Banner loses legal case that pitted religious beliefs against science

The Plight of Children at Risk in the Ultra-Orthodox Jewish Communities and the Failure of Government and Pandering Politicians to Protect Them | Marci A. Hamilton | Verdict | Legal Analysis and Commentary from Justia

Children in the United States are routinely sacrificed on the pyre of their parents’ faith by pandering politicians without a moral compass. Children don’t vote but insular religious communities often vote as a bloc mandated by the male officials at the top, and that fact is not lost on power-hungry politicians like those in Utah who let the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (FLDS) patriarchs marry off girls and abandon boys so that the men will have a better place in heaven. The same relationship between elected officials and the ultra-Orthodox Jewish communities exists: there are known risks to children but these politicians look the other way as they are feted by the rabbis and a community that keeps children at risk.

It is the time of year when Jews observe a series of important religious holidays beginning with Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. I submit this column as a subject to be pondered in the midst of celebration and reflection.

As with the FLDS, the ultra-Orthodox communities have put children at risk due to inadequate medical treatment, educational neglect, and mostly undeterred child sex abuse. In an interesting twist, the gender most severely affected in this community is male. Boys are at risk of herpes infection from metzitzah b’peh, or MBP and boys are less educated than girls because their education is focused on the Torah rather than secular subjects. Both, however, are at risk of sexual abuse. As in every community, that risk is significantly higher for the girls than the boys. Therefore, boys and girls in this community need prompt attention from the authorities, and politicians pandering for bloc votes need a conscience check.

The Plight of Children at Risk in the Ultra-Orthodox Jewish Communities and the Failure of Government and Pandering Politicians to Protect Them | Marci A. Hamilton | Verdict | Legal Analysis and Commentary from Justia

Parents of dead teen plead guilty to negligent homicide | wivb.com

Two more pieces of scum out of circulation,,,

In August, Jeremy and Astrid were charged with criminally negligent homicide, for not getting Marissa the medical attention and care she needed.

Astrid — a legal resident of Germany, not of the U.S. — pleaded guilty to attempted criminally negligent homicide. She faces up to a year in jail, along with deportation after she is released from custody.

Jeremy — who was additionally charged with sex abuse in a separate case for having sex with a victim under the age of 13 — pleaded guilty to both criminally negligent homicide and second degree attempted course of sexual conduct against a child. Both are class E felonies, and he faces up to eight years in prison under the two charges, and 10 years of post-release supervision.

Parents of dead teen plead guilty to negligent homicide | wivb.com