Can the Government take away your newborn children?

[abhijit]

I feel the government should stay out of private lives.

A severely obese family in Dundee, Scotland, whose newborn child was briefly taken from them by child protective services while the mother was still recovering in the hospital, is now gaining international attention over the issue of whether childhood obesity can be a sign of abuse or neglect.

Damien Hall was turned down to adopt on grounds that he's morbidly obese.

The couple, whose names aren't being released, has six children and told the British media that child protection authorities warned them they face losing custody if they could not get their older children's weight under control.

According to The Times of London, authorities already removed two children, aged 3 and 4, from the family home, leaving three other children with the couple. Investigations showed that the 40-year-old mother weighed at least 322 pounds before she got pregnant with her sixth child, a toddler with the family weighed 56 pounds and an older sibling weighed at least 224 pounds by age 13.

[Shaggy Hiker]

Pardon me while I pour bleach on my brain to remove some disturbing images.

Meanwhile. Most people agree that there are some situations that children shouldn't be left in. What can't be agreed upon is where the line is drawn. Personally, I don't think having a case of the fats is really abusive. Thinking about how....agghh....more bleach, more bleach.

Anyways, THAT's abusive!

[abhijit]

I am glad I did not see any images.

In this specific case, the government shouldn't have intervened. The Government can intervene if the parents specifically request for help.

That's my 2 cents.

[SambaNeko]

Normally I'd agree against government intervention, but that last paragraph is a bit disconcerting: a 56 lb. toddler and a 224 lb. 13 year old? Also the fact that they've already had 2 kids taken away and yet they're having another suggests a certain lack of "insight" (for lack of a harsher adjective)...

[Shaggy Hiker]

I would say that the kids should be removed due to the unsafe environment. After all, considering the listed size of the parents, the act of procreation could result in a grease fire. That was the image that kept creeping, unwanted, into my brain.

[NeedSomeAnswers]

56 lb. toddler and a 224 lb. 13 year old?

Look it's quite obvious that the Parents are die-hard Rugby fans and are just trying to produce the next great Props for Scotland.

They are basically carrying out a public service.

[demotivater]

Just another form of child abuse, whether intentional or not. Instead of removing the kids and incurring the cost of taking care of them - why not set up some kind of education program for the dim wit parents?

[System_Error]

Instead of removing the kids and incurring the cost of taking care of them - why not set up some kind of education program for the dim wit parents?

I've often wondered if potential parents should go through a screening process to determine if they are even competent enough to have kids.

- Does that make me communist?

[abhijit]

I've often wondered if potential parents should go through a screening process to determine if they are even competent enough to have kids.

- Does that make me communist?

Fascist!

[demotivater]

A lot of the "education" programs for adults that are busted for various crimes is a ridiculous notion. Sometimes, the best thing needed is hard time. But, when it comes to a situation like this, and I say this without knowing 100% of the facts, it seems that educating the parents and the whole family on how to "be healthy" (at least to a certain degree) would do some good.

I recall a story I saw about some big fat toddler who's mom would chew steak and other foods for the kid and then feed it to the kid. The kid was huge and neither mom nor kid had any clue what a healthy diet was. Clearly, education instead of removing the child and creating a burden on the state and most likely another troubled kid that amounts to squat was needed.

A sticky wicket since each case would need individual evaluation, but jumping for immediate removal seems a tad strong.