This is sad - a French vegan couple have been charged with neglect after their 11 month old breast fed daughter died of vitamin deficiencies arising from the diet of her mother or so it is claimed.
These people are eccentric not criminals, is there any merit in bringing such a case to trial?
These people are eccentric not criminals, is there any merit in bringing such a case to trial?
Definitely tragic, and not deserving criminal prosecution. Ironic as well, because had the baby been killed in utero 11 or so months prior, there would have been very little fuss.
ReplyDeleteSad, tragic and preventable.
ReplyDeleteReally? I think it is appalling that parents would try to make their children vegan because of some spurious philosophical argument about cows and chickens having property rights.
ReplyDeleteThat is a decision for adults. Children need proper sustenance, and if parents don't give it to them I don't care what their religious beliefs are. They should be prosecuted and punished. There should be no such thing as a vegan infant.
It's just like religion - leave that kind of decision to people when they become an adult.
ReplyDeleteUntil then telling someone to believe in the baby jesus is pretty much the same as telling them that meat is bad.
However I do love your attempt to compare vegans to abortionists.
It's not uncommon to keep babies breastfeed only until 12 months, so I don't think that this is an issue of a vegan diet for a baby, it is more that the breastfeeding wasn't (allegedly) supplying enough nutrients - in this case, a vitamin deficiency.
ReplyDeleteThey took the baby to a doctor for the 9 month check-up, which shows they were doing the right things. However, when the Doctor urged further medical care, they decided they could treat the problem better, using natural remedies, and they were wrong.
They now have to live with this, and if they are good parents, that will likely be punishment enough.
They also have a 13 year old daughter that was apparently healthy. I'm not sure having her parents go to jail will be helpful for her upbringing. The whole family probably needs counseling, and a really big steak dinner.
PS: I think the case needs to be examined to establish the degree of negligence and stupidity.
ReplyDeleteIt is wrong to assume that the issue is purely about breastfeeding, that is conjecture at this stage.
The baby was ill, they thought they could treat it with natural remedies and they were wrong, and didn't seek further medical help soon enough (although they called the paramedic finally, too late).
That is the issue that needs to be judged, because the baby may have been sick, but not appeared perilously ill - the symptoms may have been milder than we suppose, and thus the parents had little inkling things were so serious.
It's a tricky situation without the exact facts.
I think rather than a trial, an inquest would be more appropriate.
There is a similar example here in NZ at the moment - a father let his 6 year old daughter ride a quad bike and it tipped and killed her. There is an inquest - but at the end of the day, the father knows he should have said "no" to his daughter, and has to live with that. Punishing him is pointless. The only thing to take away from such cases is the publicity to help make others more aware of the dangers of such actions as these two cases illustrate so parents can make better decisions.