| Subj: FW: LETTER/Vegan Witch
Hunt: Family To Lose Child On 1/20/04
Date: 1/15/04 4:02:39 PM Mountain Standard Time From: faustine@earthlink.net To: lifesave@lifesave.org Tom, Kinship Circle is very interested in this case and have drafted the following email to send out to everyone in their database. FYI. Shaun ------ Forwarded Message
Shaun, this is for your approval. I have not posted it yet, but would
like to do so no later than this evening. Please get back to me...
SAMPLE LETTER FROM KINSHIP CIRCLE
SOURCE OF INFORMATION:
*DISCLAIMER: The information in these letters is verified with the original source. I cannot assume responsibility for the accuracy of the information or for the consequences of its use. *Kinship Circle cannot guarantee the validity of email addresses. During a campaign, recipients may change or disable their email addresses. BACKGROUND: The horrifying case of Dan and Carolee Thaxton--a Utah couple accused of "dietary abuse" and forced to surrender their toddler Matthew to foster care and now permanent adoption--sets a legal precedent of prejudicial action against those who raise vegetarian/vegan children and follow meat- and dairy-free diets. Documentary filmmaker Shaun Monson (NATION EARTH) has acquired legal
and medical case records that are haphazard, erroneous and out of sync
with one another.
The following sample letter is 1-1/2 pages in length, as opposed to
the single-page length of Kinship Circle letters. This is due, in part,
to give you the full story behind this miscarriage of justice. As always,
we encourage you to edit and personalize your letters before sending them.
Comments must be received by January 19, 2004--one day before the court
implements its decision to put Matthew up for adoption.
At the end of this alert is one-page fact sheet on pitfalls of meat/dairy consumption and benefits of a vegan diet for you to include with your letters, if you wish. ===================SAMPLE LETTER=================== The Honorable Judge Kathleen M. Nelson
RE: Case numbers 157257, 157259, 157260 Dear Judge Nelson, There are no words to adequately express my shock over the Utah Second District Court's decision to permanently remove Dan and Carolee Thaxton's 18-month-old son Matthew from their home due to alleged "dietary abuse." I understand the State Department of Child and Family Services (DCFS) took the ailing child away seven months ago and you are to implement his adoptive status on January 20, 2004. According to DCFS, Matthew's array of variously diagnosed conditions stem from a vegan diet, with a deficiency in vitamin B12 implicated in "pallor and low blood counts," among other symptoms. Healthy at birth, Matthew was misdiagnosed with Leukemia and has endured many blood tests, two transfusions, a bone marrow biopsy, B12 shots and supplementation, a Barium test, and more over a long odyssey of conflicting assessments. The Thaxtons complied with all prescribed exams and treatments, even as stumped doctors mistakenly assumed Matthew's symptoms arose from "malnutrition" AFTER they learned he was vegan. The Thaxtons continued to cooperate with legal, social and medical agencies even when ordered to "obtain psychological evaluation" due to suspected mental instability because they are vegan. Dan and Carolee stand to lose their healthy older children (Marylee, 7 and Sarah, 5) along with Matthew on grounds of abusive dietary habits. This is nothing short of a vegan witch hunt, rooted in anecdotal evidence, biased assumptions and misinformed "expert opinions." No physicians educated in vegetarian health have been consulted. A myriad of tests did not show, conclusively, that the vegan diet of this breast-fed baby and his mother prompted a low-normal B12 deficiency. No one has offered medical studies to substantiate the notion that a vegan mother can initiate malnutrition in a breast-fed baby. The Thaxtons are apparently under intense scrutiny due to the October 2001 death of Dan Jr., their two-year-old son whose sudden death was attributed to an inflammatory heart condition (Myocarditis). The Medical Examiner found no evidence of wrongful death or criminal action at that time. In fact, J. Wallace Graham, M.D., testified to the cause of death as recorded in the death certificate and contested Medical Examiner Dr. Maureen J. Frikke's later claim of "profound growth retardation," stating that Dan Jr. was well within normal growth ranges for his age. Despite the court's verdict of Myocarditis as cause of death, DCFS entered "substantiated neglect" on the records. The Thaxtons were told DCFC would drop charges if they consented to a statement of neglect. Obviously in a state of profound grief, they agreed. Now DCFS is highlighting Dan Jr.'s death as reason to remove Matthew. In addition, authorities never investigated the Bountiful Police Department's report of excessive carbon monoxide levels (which can be lethal, especially to small children) detected in the Thaxton's home at the scene of death. This is merely the tip of an iceberg riddled with inconsistencies and withheld information. On January 2, 2003 Dr. Geoffery Jackman wrote: "[Matthew] is a well-nourished, well-developed, 7-month-old male who is awake, alert, appropriate, active, smiling, nontoxic, in no acute distress and vigorous." Yet from that time until the present, the Thaxtons have dealt with: --Doctors unwilling or unprepared to compare conflicting evaluations;
Carolee and Dan Thaxton were essentially the last to know about their son's needs. On June 20, 2003, Dan was contacted at work and advised to cease hospital visits because Matthew was already in the custody of Melissa (Dan's sister) and Tom Andrews. Under legal counsel, Carolee went to the hospital anyway, only to find the State had barred all contact with her son, who was still there! Hospital Security escorted her off the property. Moreover, DCFS completely ignored the Thaxton's required list of potential relatives for foster care--releasing Matthew to unauthorized relatives, even though the judge had ruled this would be the Thaxton's decision alone. While I appreciate the legal system's concern for the welfare of the Thaxton children, I am outraged by its disproportionate response to the unproven "crime" of vegan dietary abuse and the unconstitutional nature of its actions. The permanent separation of Matthew Thaxton from his family is the true injustice in this case. I will let others, including the media, know that in the State of Utah it may be illegal to raise children as vegans. Sincerely, ===============ADDITIONAL CONTACT INFO===============
CC:
Katharina Christensen, Guardian ad Litem
Matthew Hilton, P.C.
Maureen J. Frikke, PhD., M.D., Assistant Medical Examiner
J. Wallace Graham, M.D., C.M.
Lori Frasier, M.D., Medical Director
W. Daniel Jackson, M.D., C.N.S.P., Assoc. Clinical Professor of Pediatrics
Lisa Samson-Fang, M.D.
Michael Cutler, M.D.
Dana Guertin, Child Protection Services Investigator
DeAnn Mugleston, Caseworker supervisor
================ATTACHMENT TO LETTERS ================
The Thaxton case sets a legal precedent of prejudicial action against
those who raise vegetarian/vegan children and follow meat- and dairy-free
diets. Conversely, one could easily bring "dietary abuse" charges against
parents who feed kids a diet heavy in meat and dairy.
--"We now live in a world of Salmonella-tainted chickens, Listeria-covered cheeses, and beefburgers laced with estrogenic hormones and residues of potent antibiotics. There are very good reasons why parents would want to raise their son or daughter without fatty and contaminated meat and dairy products pouring through the child's bloodstream each day." Michael Klaper, M.D., author of Pregnancy, Children and the Vegan Diet --1 of 2 Americans will die from heart disease. The excess saturated fat (mostly from animals) and cholesterol (completely from animals) will be the cause in almost every case. The American Dietetic Association claims that vegetarian diets reduce the risk for coronary artery disease, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, colorectal cancer, lung cancer, kidney disease, and obesity. --One in six teenagers' hearts showed significant blockage and the arteries of five-year-olds were clogged with fatty patches.1999 American Heart Association Scientific Sessions report --Cancer, the number two U.S. killer, is similarly associated with our huge consumption of animal fat and protein. --"Cow's milk has become a point of controversy among doctors and nutritionists. There was a time when it was considered very desirable, but research has forced us to rethink this recommendation...dairy products contribute to a surprising number of health problems (including) chronic ear problems..." Benjamin Spock, M.D., "Child Care," 7th Edition --Cow's milk can cause deficiencies in iron, essential fatty acids, and vitamin E, as well as contribute to juvenile onset diabetes and colic in babies. Cow's milk, with its high levels of insulin-like growth factor (IGF-I), is associated with elevated risks for prostate cancer and breast cancer. World Cancer Research Fund and the American Institute for Cancer Research --"Milk products gave the highest correlation coefficient to heart disease, while sugar, animal proteins and animal fats came in second, third, and fourth, respectively." A Survey of Mortality Rates and Food Consumption Statistics of 24 Countries, Medical Hypothesis 7:907-918 --"At least 50% of all children in the United States are allergic to milk, many undiagnosed. Dairy products are the leading cause of food allergy, often revealed by constipation, diarrhea, and fatigue. Many cases of asthma and sinus infections are reported to be relieved and even eliminated by cutting out dairy." Natural Health, July, 1994, Frank Oski, M.D.,Chief of Pediatrics at Johns Hopkins Medical School --"Scientific data suggest positive relationships between a vegetarian diet and reduced risk for several chronic degenerative diseases and conditions, including obesity, coronary artery disease, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and some types of cancer." Journal of the American Dietetic Association, November 1997, 97(1) --Male meat-eaters have a 50% chance of dying of a heart attack. Vegetarian men have a 4% risk. U.S. vegetarians have cholesterol levels 14% lower than meat-eaters; vegans (those who don't consume meat or dairy products) have levels 35% lower. JAMA, 1995;274:894 ### ------ End of Forwarded Message
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