DEBATE: Should Government Remove Children From Families If They Become Obese? ? Fox News Insider
On the table during a debate on Wednesday was the issue of childhood obesity and at what point, if any, the government should step in and remove a minor from his or her family. It’s a question at the center of not only health concerns but also increasing worries of a future “police state” if such an intervention were to come to fruition.
Meme Roth, of the National Action Against Obesity, said without hesitation that enabling obesity constitutes child abuse. But her counterpart, marriage and family therapist Karen Ruskin disagreed. “I find it extremely disturbing that in our generation we seek out detachment, that we seek out government, in order to try to take the child out [of the family] instead of treating the unit,” she said.
On the contrary, Ruskin said the goal should be to pair the government up with the family, doctors, nutritionists and the like before resorting to stripping the child from his/her home. “It’s extremely traumatic to the child,” Ruskin said.
This begs the question, however, where is the line drawn? Who then should call child protective services, and at what point in a child’s battle with weight issues?
“If you saw a child that was underfed and you didn’t call CPS, that wouldn’t be acceptable,” Roth said. She argues that it shouldn’t be any different in the case of an overweight minor.
Kind of a scary road to go down, if you ask me....
On the table during a debate on Wednesday was the issue of childhood obesity and at what point, if any, the government should step in and remove a minor from his or her family. It’s a question at the center of not only health concerns but also increasing worries of a future “police state” if such an intervention were to come to fruition.
Meme Roth, of the National Action Against Obesity, said without hesitation that enabling obesity constitutes child abuse. But her counterpart, marriage and family therapist Karen Ruskin disagreed. “I find it extremely disturbing that in our generation we seek out detachment, that we seek out government, in order to try to take the child out [of the family] instead of treating the unit,” she said.
On the contrary, Ruskin said the goal should be to pair the government up with the family, doctors, nutritionists and the like before resorting to stripping the child from his/her home. “It’s extremely traumatic to the child,” Ruskin said.
This begs the question, however, where is the line drawn? Who then should call child protective services, and at what point in a child’s battle with weight issues?
“If you saw a child that was underfed and you didn’t call CPS, that wouldn’t be acceptable,” Roth said. She argues that it shouldn’t be any different in the case of an overweight minor.
Kind of a scary road to go down, if you ask me....
