First, they came for the Arizona 5. Could your family be next? Here is a simply amazing interview by Dr Wakefield that MUST be carried by the mainstream media. Who amongst the major news outlets will be the first to air this video? There are profound Constitutional law issues here.

“The Arizona 5: Interview Special”

http://autismfile.com/the-arizona-5-interview-special/

“Andy Wakefield introduces the story of an Arizona family whose legal battles may very well become a cornerstone of the autism movement. Learn how the medical system’s skewed perception of autism has ripped this family apart.”

I found this Phoenix New Times article about another case of CPS alleging Munchausen by proxy. In the case here, CPS neglected to get a Munchausen expert. I think they take care of that detail now.

"Two years ago, Arizona Child Protective Services took Carol Dunlavy's 2-year-old daughter. It was alleged that Dunlavy was purposely making the child sick because Dunlavy suffered from Munchausen syndrome by proxy.

Like most parents caught up in the system, Dunlavy said she was innocent.

She was right."

http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/2009-02-19/news/arizona-child-protective-services-never-would-have-taken-carol/

Since the psychiatrist who evaluated this family is alleging that Munchausen is the diagnosis due to the "fact" that "curing autism is impossible" and therefore the crazy parents are pretending their children have autism in order to seek attention for themselves.....

I am wondering if this family's attorney is aware of this newspaper article in the Arizona Republic dated November 13, 2010 entitled "Autism therapy group says it has cured 6 kids". Yep, that's right it says "cured". Although this supposedly occurred through intensive ABA therapy and does not mention any other biomedical therapies used, the beauty of this study is that it was STATE funded with mainstream supervision.

OK, well I personally don't believe that autism can be cured with ABA alone, unless combined with biomedical therapies, so I suspect that the 6 classified as "cured" of the 14 children in this study had biomedical therapies in addition which they are not mentioning. It is quite ironic to read this newspaper headline and article which appears to be "announcing a new breakthrough" when all these years children have been improved and even totally reversed of their autism diagnosis with biomedical therapies and that fact never makes the headlines in mainstream newspapers. But the point here is that the state of Arizona funded a study which resulted in "curing" autism and now the state wants to claim that this family's children could not possibly have been cured of autism.

My aunt who lives in Arizona sent me this article, so I looked it up in the archives online and here is the address: http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/azcentral/access/2192981661.html?FMT=FT&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&fmac=430052fb12a2a3f2adec842fd3ae5cf3&date=Nov+13%2C+2010&author=Mary+Beth+Faller&desc=Autism+therapy+group+says+it+has+cured+6+kids

Here are a few quotes:

"The Center for Autism and Related Disorders says it has cured six of 14 autistic children who participated in a $5.4 million, state-funded study in the Phoenix area.
CARD, a nationwide private treatment and research organization with a program in Phoenix, received the state money for a three-year study to determine whether its intensive behavior therapy could cure young children who had been diagnosed with autism."

Daniel Openden, the center's vice president and clinical services director, said the CARD results are the latest to prove ABA-based therapy is the gold standard for autism treatment. He sees autistic children make amazing progress, but he doesn't say they are cured or recovered.

"Recovery can mean different things to different people, so the key is to understand how recovery is defined," he said. "We see a range of outcomes in response to effective treatment, up to and including children who appear indistinguishable from their peers. But we're not comfortable saying that these children no longer have autism."

So glad that Mr. Openden clarified that "we're not comfortable saying that these children no longer have autism" because with all those heavy metals in their brains, and fungus in their intestines, and vaccine induced virus and bacterial infections, and no regeneration of the myelin sheath I can't imagine how "cured" could even be possible with ABA therapy alone.

Donna L - "It may sound paranoid, but I think we need to start being much more careful about whom we trust."

Excellent point! We dare not waive any remaining rights we have to Protected Health Information.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protected_health_information

The way things are going, we will soon not have any medical freedom. WILLIE is very correct, when he says, "I think we need to start getting organized people".

IMO, we ought to develop a bipartisan coalition of the willing to expressly protect medical freedom. Such a strategy might actually bring both the VAXERs and ANTI-VAXERs together in a common cause.

Those of us who don't vaccinate don't want to force our views on anyone - we just want to be left alone without being accused of spreading disease or FORCED to receive vaccinations.

Eventually, those who choose vaccination will realize that vaccine-induced susceptibility to diseases is a very real concern, for which there is growing body of evidence. Over time, the number of citizens who choose vaccination will decline, once they see the value of strengthening their God-given natural immunity, but we must all have the freedom to make personal medical choices. A medical freedom agenda is a unifying strategy. This strategy has the advantage of bringing VAXERs and ANTI-VAXERs together. This is a good thing. Both sides should have the right to make personal medical choices. This right should be expressly protected in law.

VACCINES CAUSE AUTISM
MAKE AUTISM STOP
MEDICAL FREEDOM NOW
END MEDICAL FASCISM NOW

My wife and I were victims of "invidiously discriminatory animus" in Arizona. Pharma, a PharmaWhore, and the Prescription Drug User Fee Act were involved. There was State Action.

Are the Arizona 5 victims of invidiously discriminatory animus in Arizona?

IMO, based on the limited information presently available, the chances are good. Again, this case could easily have Constitutional scope and nationwide coverage.

VACCINES CAUSE AUTISM
MAKE AUTISM STOP
MEDICAL FREEDOM NOW
END MEDICAL FASCISM NOW

Is there a rational basis for treating ASD families differently in Arizona?

See Sioux City Bridge Co. v. Dakota County, 260 U.S. 441, 43 S.Ct. 190, 67 L.Ed 340 (1923); Allegheny Pittsburgh Coal Co. v. Commission of Webster Cty, 488 U.S. 336, 109 S.Ct. 633.

Does the Arizona 5 family have a legal cause of action under the "selective enforcement" theory and the "class of one" theory?

See Village of Willowbrook v. Olech, 528 U.S. 562, 564 (2000).

I would hazard to say that the Justices of SCOTUS have heard of these cases.

Is there an Equal Protection case here, perhaps under the "clear and present danger" or the "imminent risk of harm" theories?

@Autism Grandma

I don't know any of the particulars of this case and the only reason I am the least bit curious is that Dr. Wakefield has taken it on and is speaking out about it. I'm sure that in time we will all know more. This very well could be a landmark case in which we all need to get behind and support, but as it stands now this case is no different to me than the 50,000 other cases throughout the past decade where CPS has taken children without due process that have failed to get justice.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSD9i3ykuOQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9OoWRPHs24&feature=related

That article Carol posted is crazy! Is this America? A democracy where people supposedly have rights?

Re: Post by patrons99

"Arizona CPS and others, acting in concert, are State Actors. They are acting under color of official right. The Civil Rights Act of 1871 is found in Title 42, section 1983 of the United States Code and so is commonly referred to as section 1983. It provides that anyone who, under color of state or local law, causes a person to be deprived of rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution, or federal law, is liable to that person."

This family really needs an attorney who can defend them on their Constitutional Rights, and then sue the asses off of the persecutors. This is NOT a case of Munchausen, which is actually quite rare, and as Not an MD stated, "If this were a case of Munchausen's by Proxy, the children wouldn't be improving, but worsening over time." For God's sake, we all know the immense amount money these parents had to spend on their children to recover their vaccine injuries so who would spend that kind of money and go through all the recovery work FOR NO REASON???!!! Munchausen parents torture their children for the attention, they don't knock themselves out to recover them.

This infuriates me because our family has also been persecuted by hospital doctors and child protective services for using alternative therapies and refusing vaccines. THIS IS REAL, not some kind of "scam" as some here suspect.

Andy....excuse me....make that DOCTOR Wakefield... would not be involved in this if he didn't have information on accurate authority and neither would the Autism File support a situation like this without enough facts to establish credibility.

I guess the interviews Dr. Wakefield speaks about at the conclusion of this are upcoming and then we will know more. In the next video I think it would be a good idea to have the good doctor wear a cowboy hat with a Sheriff's badge.....and maybe a six shooter.

Here's a 2007 Phoenix New Times article about the situation with Arizona CPS:
http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/2007-09-27/news/silence-of-the-lambs/

"The fact is, unlike trials for embezzlement or murder or even rape, CPS dependency hearings, which determine custody and whether parents continue to have the right to raise their children, are closed to the public. The agency's paperwork is also sealed.

And that means the entire system operates without scrutiny from outsiders, be they reporters or advocates. (There's a state ombudsman, but he is legally barred from releasing specifics about cases.) We never get to see the evidence that would determine whether kids are wrongly being taken from their parents, as so many callers insist on my voice mail, or whether CPS is instead erring on the side of leaving kids in unsafe homes."

Blaming the victims of a crime is certainly nothing new for pharma.

“The “Refrigerator Mother” Hypothesis of Autism” by James R. Laidler, MD.

http://www.autism-watch.org/causes/rm.shtml

Ghost-written psychiatric bilge is certainly nothing new for pharma.

Direct and indirect transfers of value “below the public’s radar screen” to PharmaWhores is certainly nothing new for pharma.

So, when all of the "usual suspects" are rounded up, who really had the motive, means, and opportunity, to do the crime?

We need to be patient and see how this all plays out. We’re speculating wildly with an information deficit.

You know, the "other side" can claim that this is fear-mongering, because there are no verifiable facts listed. Shouldn't this be part of the public record? Can anyone verify this?

I am a big fan of Andy Wakefield, and it will be the final nail in the coffin for all of us including him, if this turns out to have been a false alarm of some kind.

I wouldn't put it past the pharmaceutical industry to set Wakefield up for exactly that kind of reason, too, and, caring soul that he is, they could probably set him up pretty easily.

Can someone PLEASE look into this????

(And please feel free to not post this, if you think it's going to give the pharm shills ideas, but PLEASE get someone to look into this!!!!)

Patrons99, while some may not believe Munchausen's is a valid psychiatric condition, there are some cases where it appears to be quite valid. I am not stating that I believe that is the case with the Arizona 5 at all. In fact, I believe that due to the improvement of the children, which can be proven, that this case can be easily dismissed with the proper legal representation.

I have read a case involving a young person with Munchausen's who was a textbook case. This person wanted to be an EMT and tried to become one. This person was rejected for the position due to self-mutilation acts. This person had a multitude of medical records from various state hospitals indicating the person cut him/herself with chicken wire, and a knife, and broken glass on different occasions. As long as someone foot the bill, this person self-harmed to get the attention that was craved. This culminated in the person developing an open wound on his/her foot upon which he/she urinated and defecated to further the infection with various bodily flora. This was not a "by proxy" case, true, but it was a serious case that could have resulted in amputation if he/she had not been terminated from insurance coverage. The person was discharged from the hospital, and he/she left with a picc line still in his/her neck. It was a fascinating and frightening case. Such people do exist, although I would hope they are indeed few and far between.

Why is there so little info on the web about this? Even Dr. Wakefield's video is very short on specifics. Is there a gag order? The paucity of info is odd.

This is one of those things where there will never be enough information. We need to educate the public on health problems that is not considered "normal" or "acceptable." It's very sad that some people will automatically assume the person guilty of doing something horrible simply because they are not like them :(

I've studied Munchausen Syndrome before, becoming interested in it as it involved a sexual abuse case I was investigating. It is quite complex but not as rare as one might expect, particularly if the victim is unable to speak or unable to understand what is happening. Usually the only way this comes to light is when there is a witness or some sort of specific evidence such as blood work discovers a toxin that is not readily available or is at such a level that the chances of a casual contact are slim thus causing a reasonable suspicion.

MUNCHAUSEN BY PROXY (MBP) (also called Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy, Munchausen by Proxy Syndrome, and Factitious Disorder by Proxy) is a label for a pattern of behavior in which caretakers deliberately exaggerate and/or fabricate and/or induce physical and/or psychological-behavioral-mental health problems in others.

This pattern of behavior constitutes a separate kind of maltreatment (abuse/neglect) that manifests as physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, neglect, or a combination. The primary purpose of this behavior is to gain some form of internal gratification, such as attention, for the perpetrator.

I know absolutely nothing about this case and would be very interested in learning more about it.

I don't know if any of you have had personal contact with a true hypochondriac, someone who is constantly seeking medical help for imagined health issues but if you have first hand experience with someone like this you may know that many of the hypochondriacs will usually have a medicine cabinet full of various medications, each with their own variety of side effects. Many times the hypochondriac will create real health issues by perhaps intent or accident because of the use of these drugs. This would be a "Factitious Disorder" which becomes more serious than hypochondria, because now it becomes self injury, which of course could lead to death.

With Munchausen there usually is a similar thing at play. Sometimes when doctors do not recognize a particular event or problem that a parent presents regarding a child, the parent may re-present later or to a different doctor the same complaint but this time intentionally causing symptoms in the child that may lead to the diagnosis and/or treatment desired by the parent.

Children with autism are extremely vulnerable to this sort of victimization and surely it happens. If it happens in the general population then it certainly happens in the autism community.

I would hate for one second to even pretend to defend or support anyone who, for instance, may have intentionally caused the ingestion of some toxin, mercury etc. to "prove" a specific injury, no more than I would support any parent's suicide and murder of their child.

I trust Dr. Wakefield and those who have looked into the Arizona 5 and will pray for justice.

I hate this because of the obvious rights issues, but I also hate it because it calls into question many of the treatments and therapeutic methods we use to aid and assist our children as we work to recover them from their injuries and related illnesses. Should this be a case of Munchausen Syndrome by Proxie I hope the perpetrator burns in hell, and should this be a violation of parental rights I would hope that this issue creates a presidence in which we all can cling to for protection when they come for our children.

Many state laws regarding the health department give an inordinate amount of power to government officials to act in ways that, under any other situation would be considered unconstitutional. They have the power to quarantine and restrict movement without "due process." When children are concerned, the unspoken rule is to act now and ask questions later. My guess is that there is a "player" somewhere in this tragedy that wants to make an example out of this family and has a vendetta against people who go up against established medical practice.

It should be said we have many such cases in the UK but they are hidden from public view, being usually dealt with in our highly secretive family courts if they come to prosecution. Virtually anybody can make accusations against anybody according to these guidelines, inspired by Drs Meadow and Southall:

http://www.londonscb.gov.uk/files/library/fabricatedillnessinchildren.pdf

If we allow this family to fall to the whims of the state attorney and child protective services... they'll walk all over us parents, emboldened by precedent... and other states will follow.

We have to draw the line in Arizona. This is NOT an isolated case... there are equally-bad cases I've been privy to the last few years.

There is potential for nationwide coverage of this case. Therefore, we need a coherent, focused set of slogans, for the court of public opinion.

VACCINES CAUSE AUTISM
MAKE AUTISM STOP
MEDICAL FREEDOM NOW

I am not every going to have grandchildren.
I am very sad about that, mostly because I know the joy that my own children are going to miss.

But really; in this day and time - the attitude of vaccinating 6 jabs in different limbs,and the federal/state/schools/and now social workers breathing down your neck to get all vaccines even if the kids have an immune problem mis- named autism; not to have grandchildren is a relief!

Wow! This case has Constitutional dimension and scope. Anyone who doubts that spiritual warfare exists need only look at Arizona. This is a struggle between good and evil. This case deserves nationwide coverage. This case represents the worst State Action imaginable.

In my non-attorney opinion, federal civil rights have been violated in Arizona. Based on first-hand experience, this is not the first time that federal civil rights have been violated in Arizona. Constitutional Due Process violation of the Fourteenth Amendment has again been violated in Arizona.

Arizona CPS and others, acting in concert, are State Actors. They are acting under color of official right. The Civil Rights Act of 1871 is found in Title 42, section 1983 of the United States Code and so is commonly referred to as section 1983. It provides that anyone who, under color of state or local law, causes a person to be deprived of rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution, or federal law, is liable to that person.

I pray for the Arizona 5. I pray that get competent legal representation. Has a Constitutional law firm been consulted? Is the U.S. Attorney's office involved? Why was there no injunction? They may need to appeal their case all the way to the SCOTUS. Dr Wakefield is the perfect spokesman for the court of public opinion. He has been there (understatement intended).