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Thursday, May 28, 2015

FLORIDA CIRCUMCISION SAGA: It's Not Over Yet

 Heather Hironimus, Chase's mother, prays for a miracle as she is
forced to sign away her baby's most basic of human rights.

Current state of affairs...
It's been a few days since I've last posted on this matter. A lot of us who have been keeping our eye on this case have been left stunned and in utter disbelief that this is the way this case is playing out today, in this day and age.
According to recent reports, after having dropped her federal civil rights case, the mother in this case was forced to sign a circumcision consent form, and faces a felony custody violation charge, which carries a maximum of five years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.
The mother, and the rest of the intactivist movement, holds her breath as the father has full custody and sole discretion over their child's medical care for ninety days, and will be no doubt working hard to get him circumcised as soon as possible.
The whereabouts of the child are unknown, however intactivists and others who care for the child's well-being haven't lost hope, and are praying for a miracle.
Many hope that American doctors will adhere to the moral and ethical high ground, and simply refuse to perform needless surgery on the boy who is healthy and expressly wishes to be left alone.
Others hope that in the time the father spends with his son, he will have a change of heart and choose not to have surgery performed on his son out of his own volition.

Case seen around the world
They say that every cloud has a silver lining, and even though the outcome of this case isn't what many of us who fight for basic human rights have hoped for, there has been some good which has come out of this case.

People in and outside of the United States are being forced to talk about what was once a taboo given. News reports about this case are being published as far as Europe, and even Jewish practitioners of ritual newborn circumcision are calling fowl.

Though the case hasn't resulted in "success" for this child and mother, it has become "success" in the sense that, it has resulted in creating awareness about forced genital cutting.

People are being forced to admit that male infant circumcision is not the "non-issue" everybody tries to make it out to be.
Whistling in the dark, many attempt to laugh away the matter, trivializing it and cracking jokes, but now, the seriousness of the matter can no longer be denied.
Campaigns to Help this Mother and Son
A previous letter campaign alerting Florida doctors of the situation has made it so that no doctor in the right mind would dare perform needless surgery on the child in question, as doing so would put them in danger of litigation, in addition to garnering international media attention.

The campaign has worked, however the Florida state court has granted this father the freedom to look for doctors who might circumcise the 4-year-old child in other states.

There is now a new letter-writing campaign, and there are private groups in every single state writing letters to doctors on the child's behalf.
Readers can visit a Facebook page administered by SavingSons.org for more details. 

Additionally, a fundraiser on YouCaring has been started to raise funds for the mother, who in addition to having temporarily lost custody of her son, now faces new charges in court. The page for the fundraiser can be accessed here.




Related Links:
FLORIDA: What Happened Today As Per Intact America


FLORIDA CIRCUMCISION SAGA: Insult to Injury

Post of Interest:

While a Florida court is mandating a mother relinquish her son to be circumcised without medical or clinical indication, in Israel, in a similar case, common sense prevails. So sad that my country is being left behind in this regard...

Common Sense in Israel

Friday, May 22, 2015

FLORIDA CIRCUMCISION SAGA: Insult to Injury



As if being forcibly separated from her child, and being forced to sign the consent form for his non-therapeutic genital surgery to appease his father weren't enough, the mother in the Florida court-ordered circumcision case apparently now faces a new criminal charge.

According to the Sun Sentinel, this mother now also faces a criminal charge of interference with custody, from her time keeping the boy from his father in an apparent violation of a custody-sharing agreement. The charge is a third-degree felony punishable by up to five years in state prison for a conviction.

What a sad day it is in this country, where not only are you jailed for trying to protect your son from needless surgery, you also face a criminal charge as well.

What a tragedy that this is being allowed to happen in this country and being called "justice."



 

Previous Posts:
FLORIDA UPDATE: Father Intent on Circumcising 4-yo Son Seeks to Legally Paralyze Mother

FLORIDA UPDATE: Mother in Circumcision Dispute Fails to Appear in Court - Judge Orders Her Arrest

FLORIDA: Belligerent Judge Seeks the Circumcision of a 4 Year Old

FLORIDA UPDATE: 4-yo Circumcision Case Goes Federal

FLORIDA CIRCUMCISION SAGA: Mother Arrested, Child Nabbed

FLORIDA UPDATE: Court Battle Slated for Monday - Father Objects to British TV Coverage

A Word Of Prayer for Chase



FLORIDA: What Happened Today As Per Intact America




And the Florida Circumcision Court Battle Draws to a Close

Post of Interest:

While a Florida court is mandating a mother relinquish her son to be circumcised without medical or clinical indication, in Israel, in a similar case, common sense prevails. So sad that my country is being left behind in this regard...

Common Sense in Israel

And the Florida Circumcision Court Battle Draws to a Close


Punished for the crime of attempting to protect your only child from needless surgery.
We now live in a country where you either consent to mutilating your son or you rot in jail.














Chase's mother in her our of anguish, grief and despair.
Oh the complete helplessness she must have been feeling...
To have your little one, whom you love, be ripped from you,
and you having no power to protect him...
This is what they call "justice" in the United States of America.
What a disgrace.

One day Chase will see these photos and know what his mother was put through.

Photos: Sun Sentinel

It is absolutely sick and despicable that this could be happening in this day and age in the United States of America.

Court-ordered child abuse.

This mother and child have been subjected to abject humiliation and suffering.

Being forcibly separated from your child, especially knowing he is with a monster has got to be some special form of torture.

How must Chase feel to be away from his mother this long. Who knows if he's ever slept at night away from her, with his excuse for a father, and the constant fear he must have of being taken away for surgery at any time. Poor child may not be eating or sleeping, which leads to terrible mental anguish.

And now it will all end with this boy and mother's nightmare coming true.

I can only imagine the betrayal...

He is at the mercy of his father now.

What a disgusting, disheartening outcome. All that protesting, all that hoping and praying, all that national attention, all that overwhelming support for the mother and her baby. All for nothing. A resounding victory for the side of evil.

A little boy is going to have the most sensitive part of his body needlessly mutilated, he will probably never see his mother again, and he is going to grow up under the roof of the very man who abused of him, and ruined his life at such a young age.

How could this happen in my country today?

What an absolute tragedy.

Still, others hope for a miracle.

This father has a very afraid, very angry 4-year old, who is upset about his mom, and he is terrified of the procedure.

We can only hope that the father will have compassion for his young son and not compound the trauma of the past few months with the trauma of a medically unnecessary surgery.

We an only hope that physicians will have compassion, and that they will do the ethical, right thing and refuse to perform surgery on a healthy, non-consenting minor.

Neither the well-being of this child, nor his basic human rights were ever considered in this case.

The boy was never heard.

The person whose body is in question was never heard.

Shame on this father.

Shame on this judge.

This day will live on in infamy as one of the darkest days in our nation's history.

A court system that can't protect the most basic human rights of a minor is broken indeed. A sad day in the world it is when a child must undergo court-ordered abuse to appease a crazed father's whim.

My thoughts are with Chase and his mother.

If his father goes through with this, Chase will essentially undergo needless genital mutilation and abuse, and the courts sanctioned, ordered, even facilitated it.

I pray for the day when male children are given the full protection of their basic human rights as female children are.




As I look into the face of this poor, innocent little boy, I can only clutch my own children close and pray for his protection.



This is what a four-year old about to be circumcised looks like.
This is what our justice system is allowing in this country today.
What an absolute tragedy.



WE ARE ALL CHASE




















This is child abuse.

It is child abuse, and our justice system is allowing it to happen.

No, Judge Gillen MADE it happen.

He ignored this child's most basic of human rights and he is directly responsible for allowing, if not directly facilitating this abuse and direct violation of basic human rights.

He will be remembered as the judge who jailed a mother for attempting to protect her son from needless surgery, taking the boy and handing him to his father so that he could facilitate the child's abuse.

You have a boy's blood on your hands, Jefferey Dana Gillen.

You will be remembered, and Chase will remember you.

Poor mother... How must she feel... She must feel that she failed her son... She must feel betrayed by the justice system in our own country.

I don't know how I would feel if I were jailed for trying to protect my children, they were taken away, and I was told that they were going to do to them the very thing I was trying to protect them from, and there is nothing I could do about it...


Poor Chase... How must he feel... I can only imagine what it can feel like to be a bystander to the rape of your own body...

Poor Chase... Poor, poor Chase...

I can't believe this is happening in my own country...

Such a let-down...

What a sad, sad day it is today...

 Previous Posts:
FLORIDA UPDATE: Father Intent on Circumcising 4-yo Son Seeks to Legally Paralyze Mother

FLORIDA UPDATE: Mother in Circumcision Dispute Fails to Appear in Court - Judge Orders Her Arrest

FLORIDA: Belligerent Judge Seeks the Circumcision of a 4 Year Old

FLORIDA UPDATE: 4-yo Circumcision Case Goes Federal

FLORIDA CIRCUMCISION SAGA: Mother Arrested, Child Nabbed

FLORIDA UPDATE: Court Battle Slated for Monday - Father Objects to British TV Coverage

A Word Of Prayer for Chase


FLORIDA: What Happened Today As Per Intact America



Post of Interest:
While a Florida court is mandating a mother relinquish her son to be circumcised without medical or clinical indication, in Israel, in a similar case, common sense prevails. So sad that my country is being left behind in this regard...

Common Sense in Israel

Wednesday, May 20, 2015

FLORIDA CIRCUMCISION SAGA: Withdrawal of Motion and Notice of Voluntary Dismissal Filed




This has just appeared in my Facebook news feed, posted by Chase's Guardians:

This morning, Thomas Hunker, the mother's attorney, filed a Withdrawal of Motion and Notice of Voluntary Dismissal of the federal case. We do not yet have answers to why this happened but will report here once we do. Please continue to support Chase's basic human rights and his mother's plight to get out of jail and have custody of her son returned to her.
I fear the worst...

A court system that can't protect the most basic human rights of a minor is broken indeed. A sad day in the world it is when a child must undergo court-ordered abuse to appease a crazed father's whim.

My thoughts are with Chase and his mother.

If his father goes through with this, Chase will have essentially undergone needless genital mutilation and abuse, and the courts sanctioned, ordered, even facilitated it.

I pray for the day when male children are given the full protection of their basic human rights as female children are.



As I look into the face of this poor, innocent little boy, I can only clutch my own children close and pray for his protection.



WE ARE ALL CHASE




















This is child abuse.

It is child abuse, and our justice system allowed it to happen.

No, Judge Gillen MADE it happen.

He ignored this child's most basic of human rights and he is directly responsible for allowing, if not directly facilitating this abuse and direct violation of basic human rights.

He will be remembered as the judge who jailed a mother for attempting to protect her son from needless surgery, taking the boy and handing him to his father so that he could facilitate the child's abuse.

You have a boy's blood on your hands, Jefferey Dana Gillen.

You will be remembered, and Chase will remember you.

Poor mother... How must she feel... She must feel that she failed her son... She must feel betrayed by the justice system in our own country.

I don't know how I would feel if I were jailed for trying to protect my children, they were taken away, and I was told that they were going to do to them the very thing I was trying to protect them from, and there is nothing I could do about it...


Poor Chase... How must he feel... I can only imagine what it can feel like to be a bystander to the rape of your own body...

Poor Chase... Poor, poor Chase...

I can't believe this is happening in my own country...

Such a let-down...

What a sad, sad day it is today...

Previous Posts:
FLORIDA UPDATE: Father Intent on Circumcising 4-yo Son Seeks to Legally Paralyze Mother

FLORIDA UPDATE: Mother in Circumcision Dispute Fails to Appear in Court - Judge Orders Her Arrest

FLORIDA: Belligerent Judge Seeks the Circumcision of a 4 Year Old

FLORIDA UPDATE: 4-yo Circumcision Case Goes Federal

FLORIDA CIRCUMCISION SAGA: Mother Arrested, Child Nabbed

FLORIDA UPDATE: Court Battle Slated for Monday - Father Objects to British TV Coverage

A Word Of Prayer for Chase

FLORIDA: What Happened Today As Per Intact America

Post of Interest:
While a Florida court is mandating a mother relinquish her son to be circumcised without medical or clinical indication, in Israel, in a similar case, common sense prevails. Let us hope common sense prevails in American courts as well.

Common Sense in Israel

Monday, May 18, 2015

FLORIDA: What Happened Today As Per Intact America


Georganne Chapin of Intact America was present at the hearing of Chase's case in the federal courts today. I'm tired, and I've been holding my breath until now, so I'm just going to post Georganne Chapin's review and comment minimally towards the end:

The long hearing touched on all the important issues, but in the end, Judge Kenneth Marra did not rule on any of the motions.

The child's attorney, Thomas Hunker, went first. He argued that the Federal court should accept jurisdiction. Judge Marra asked him many questions, focusing on the critical questions of whether the child is indeed a new party (i.e., not represented in the state court case) and whether the issues had already been litigated. 

Mr. Hunker made compelling arguments that the boy's Constitutional rights were not presented in the state court—that the dispute then was between the parents, that it was viewed as a contract dispute, and that the boy's right to bodily integrity was not presented.

Federal court Judge Marra was not ready to rule today on the jurisdiction question, which is key to determining whether the child has additional legal remedies.

Early in the hearing, he asked the attorney for the father Dennis Nebus if he would agree to wait before carrying out the circumcision. Nebus' attorney expressed reluctance to do that, but said he would defer to the judge for a limited time. It became clear that the Defendant's position is that if the Federal court does not have jurisdiction to litigate the case, it similarly has no jurisdiction to issue an injunction (a Temporary Restraining Order, in this instance). Both the judge and the Defendants were aware of this, and I believe that's why Judge Marra phrased the question as a request, rather than an order.

A good deal of the back-and-forth between Attorney Hunker (for the boy) and Judge Marra consisted of arguments about whether or not the Plaintiff had the right to bring the case in Federal court. The judge wanted Hunker to tell him (1) that the boy was indeed a new party (question: if the mother wasn't representing the child's interest in state court, whose interest was she representing?); (2) that the issues presented in the federal complaint were different than those presented in the state case.

The two questions are actually, in my mind, intertwined. It seems that the boy's constitutional right to bodily integrity was NOT raised in the first case. Neither was his right to equal protection - but, ironically, it was Judge Marra who zeroed in on the latter, asking: "OK, so you're saying that if a parent were prosecuted for cutting the genitals of his daughter, that parent's defense could be that the anti-FGM statute is unconstitutional because it only protects girls?"

What was historic about the discussion is that there was actually a discussion about circumcision as infringing upon the rights of the male child to bodily integrity and equal protection.

Where I felt the Judge was totally off base was in focusing on circumcision as a medical decision - one that the parents had the right to make. He kept raising examples like tonsillectomies and cancer treatment. Where I felt that the child's attorney could have argued more strenuously is that (1) there is absolutely NO medical need for the surgery (unlike in the Judge's examples; and (2) there is absolutely no necessity for the surgery to take place NOW. The father's attorney said "Mr. Nebus is entitled to finality, and the boy is also entitled to finality."

Finality? Even though it's irreversible bodily mutilation of a child?

Unfortunately, Heather Hironimus was not in court. Her mother, father and sister were there, they did not know ahead of time that Heather would not be.

The judge did not indicate when he will rule on the jurisdiction question. The timetable seems likely to be set by whether the father goes ahead and schedules the surgery, promising to give the judge a 7-day notice.

I came away feeling neither optimistic nor pessimistic about whether the Judge will accept the case. I remain optimistic that the child can be saved.

My Thoughts...
I'm glad that even though no rulings were made, the case has made history as I've highlighted above.

What bothers me is that the case has become stuck in the matter of whether or not this case should have been brought to the federal court. It is believed by the plaintiffs that the state court has ruled unjustly, and that thus, this would be the next step. That they are trying to argue that the judge did not have this child's best interest in mind is the whole reason they are there. As Georganne Chapin has rightly highlighted, neither the child's constitutional right to bodily integrity, nor his right to equal protection were raised.

Other things that I think ought to be considered when discussing whether or not this judge had the child's best interests in mind are other actions. How could the judge have had the child's best interests in mind when he was not interested in what the child had to say for himself? Why deny him a guardian ad litem? Why dismiss amicus curiae by other parties wanting to speak on his behalf?

Why does it seem the judge's actions were meant to disable the mother while giving the father an advantage? Why did he forbade her from seeking help from others? Why did he deny the mother and child a voice, and then signed a warrant for their arrest when they tried to run to seek someone who would speak for them?

Why does it seem to escape the judge that the child is three years older from when the written agreement was made? Why doesn't it seem to matter to him that the child is now older, fully aware and conscious of his body and his surroundings? That the mother now has information she didn't have three years ago when she signed the agreement? What is wrong with the child that this is being called a "medical decision?"

Instead of being stuck on whether or not this case is legitimate, whether or not the written agreement signed years ago has any standing, why isn't anyone questioning whether what is outlined in the invoked written agreement is actually constitutional and in the child's best interests, especially now that the child is older and not the same child as when the agreement was signed?

Why is what this child now thinks about his own body irrelevant?

His needs, wishes and constitutional rights were clearly ignored by the judge in the initial case. Why the continued insistence that this child, whose body is in question, neither be represented, seen nor heard?

Georganne hits it on the nail here. The child is not sick nor suffering an illness that requires surgery. How is it, then that the judge insists it is any kind of "medical decision?" How are healthy, anatomically correct genitals in any way comparable to inflamed tonsils or a cancerous tumor?

"Mr. Nebus is entitled to finality, and the boy is also entitled to finality."

"Finality" to what?

What does this mean?


That Nebus get the last word? Is that what this is all about?

If the boy is entitled to "finality," why not ask HIM what he wants?

Whose body is it? Whose choice?

Though nothing has been decided yet, at the very least I can breathe a sigh of relief in that, at least for now, the boy is safe.



I pray that people come to their senses. Let this couple fight their own battles and stop using this child's body as a battle ground.

Let the basic human rights of this child be recognized.

I Close With My Mission Statement
The foreskin is not a birth defect. Neither is it a congenital deformity or genetic anomaly akin to a 6th finger or a cleft. Neither is it a medical condition like a ruptured appendix or diseased gall bladder. Neither is it a dead part of the body, like the umbilical cord, hair, or fingernails.

The foreskin is not "extra skin." The foreskin is normal, natural, healthy, functioning tissue, present in all males at birth; it is as intrinsic to male genitalia as labia are to female genitalia.

Unless there is a medical or clinical indication, the circumcision of a healthy, non-consenting individuals is a deliberate wound; it is the destruction of normal, healthy tissue, the permanent disfigurement of normal, healthy organs, and by very definition, infant genital mutilation, and a violation of the most basic of human rights.

Without medical or clinical indication, doctors have absolutely no business performing surgery in healthy, non-consenting individuals, much less be eliciting any kind of "decision" from parents.




You can help this child and his mother
As far as your author knows, it is still possible to help this mother financially. Now, more than ever, Chase's mother needs financial help. You can donate to Doctors Opposing Circumcision via PayPal and include the words "Chase's legal fund" in the note to earmark the donation for the mother's attorney, or visit the webpage for the fundraiser being administered by Doctors Opposing Circumcision, at http://chasesguardians.org.


Previous Posts:
FLORIDA UPDATE: Father Intent on Circumcising 4-yo Son Seeks to Legally Paralyze Mother

FLORIDA UPDATE: Mother in Circumcision Dispute Fails to Appear in Court - Judge Orders Her Arrest

FLORIDA: Belligerent Judge Seeks the Circumcision of a 4 Year Old

FLORIDA UPDATE: 4-yo Circumcision Case Goes Federal

FLORIDA CIRCUMCISION SAGA: Mother Arrested, Child Nabbed

FLORIDA UPDATE: Court Battle Slated for Monday - Father Objects to British TV Coverage

A Word Of Prayer for Chase

Post of Interest:
While a Florida court is mandating a mother relinquish her son to be circumcised without medical or clinical indication, in Israel, in a similar case, common sense prevails. Let us hope common sense prevails in American courts as well.

Common Sense in Israel

A Word Of Prayer for Chase



As the day begins, I'd just like to make a special post for Chase, the boy whose basic human rights are at stake today.

The courtroom battle to decide whether or not Chase's basic human rights are to be respected happens today at 1:00pm.

Terrified, he and his mother await his fate.

I pray for his safety, that his voice may be heard, that his wishes on his own body are respected, and that when the dust clears, he emerges from all of this unharmed.

I pray that his father sees the light and decides leaving his son be is in his best interests.

The following is a quote from a Philly Voice contributor:
"At the center of this legal battle stands a very frightened little boy. His parents are at war, and his body is their battleground."

This couldn't be put more succinctly...


Today, I pray for this boy's basic human rights.




You can help this child and his mother
As far as your author knows, it is still possible to help this mother financially. Now, more than ever, Chase's mother needs financial help. You can donate to Doctors Opposing Circumcision via PayPal and include the words "Chase's legal fund" in the note to earmark the donation for the mother's attorney, or visit the webpage for the fundraiser being administered by Doctors Opposing Circumcision, at http://chasesguardians.org.


Previous Posts:
FLORIDA UPDATE: Mother in Circumcision Dispute Fails to Appear in Court - Judge Orders Her Arrest


FLORIDA: Belligerent Judge Seeks the Circumcision of a 4 Year Old


FLORIDA UPDATE: 4-yo Circumcision Case Goes Federal





Post of Interest:
While a Florida court is mandating a mother relinquish her son to be circumcised without medical or clinical indication, in Israel, in a similar case, common sense prevails. Let us hope common sense prevails in American courts as well.

Common Sense in Israel

Saturday, May 16, 2015

FLORIDA UPDATE: Court Battle Slated for Monday - Father Objects to British TV Coverage


 The wicked detest scrutiny.

NEW EDIT 5/17/2015 - PLEASE SCROLL DOWN

In my last post regarding this case, we learned that, Heather Hironimus, the mother of the boy in this case was arrested and put in jail on Thursday, May 14, after Broward County sheriff's deputies stormed the domestic violence shelter where she and her son were taking refuge. The boy has presumably been handed over to his father to do with him as he wishes.

Intactivist circles on Facebook are abuzz anew, as new information regarding the whereabouts of this case is released.

According to Intact America, one of many intact organizations keeping watch over the case, the mother is currently being held at the county jail. Chase, the 4-year-old caught in the middle, was taken into custody too, although his wereabouts are unknown, according to the mother's attorney, Tom Hunker.

The mother's attorney has filed an emergency temporary restraining order (TRO) with the Federal Court, requesting that all Defendants in the Federal case, which includes the father Dennis Nebus and Judge Gillen, be forbidden from circumcising the boy until at least the Federal case is resolved. Mr. Hunker states that the boy's right to due process was being denied by Judge Gillen.

Federal Judge Kenneth Marra has scheduled an emergency hearing on all motions filed for Monday, May 18th, 1:00 pm at the federal courthouse. There will be a ruling on the TRO motion, but the testimony concerning the case itself will not be heard.

Father Objects to British and All Media Coverage of Upcoming Hearing
Apparently, Beyond the Frame Ltd. filed a request a Request for Video Recording of the hearing scheduled for this upcoming Monday, but the court denied the request because the father has objected to being recorded by British television, or any other media request for video coverage.

The court docket containing the Notice of Objection has been uploaded by a Facebook user here.

The wording in the legal document is that "At least one Defendant has indicated that it does not consent to the video recording." I find it strangely ironic that the father "objects" to, and "does not consent" to being filmed by mass media, in a case where he is fighting to cut his son's genitals, regardless of whether he "objects" or "does not consent."

Not Out of the Woods Yet
At least for now, it seems like there may yet be a ray of hope for this mother and her son, but they have yet far to go. The whereabouts of this child are unknown, and one can only hope he is in a safe place, away from harm. And even if all stands still until the Monday hearing, the federal judge must still rule in favor of Chase and his mother.

This weekend, those in favor of Chase's freedom hold their breaths and pray for his safety, and that when all is said and done, he walks away unharmed. God bless his mother for fighting the good fight to protect her son's most basic of human rights.


 Prayers and thoughts go out to Chase, the child in this case.
 The circumcision of a 4-year-old does not look pretty.
My heart breaks as I imagine the pain and trauma
poor little Chase will have to go through, and what
terror and fright he may be enduring right now,
as he anticipates what will be happening to him.

NEW EDIT

Is Chase Safe?
Many who are keeping watch on this case, myself included, are afraid for the safety of Chase. Though his whereabouts are unknown, it is assumed that his father has him, and that he is desperately trying to have him circumcised before the federal court can say anything about it.

It is believed that Judge Gillen had a hand in hastening the arrest of Heather, Chase's mother, as he and Chase's father, Dennis, seem to share the same belligerence and pathological obsession with "being right," and both wanted to trump federal court jurisdiction and circumcise Chase before the federal court hears the matter.

Up until now, I felt rather forlorn and fearful that Chase would be circumcised this weekend before Mondey proceedings, but an intactivist friend of mine who is in the know has shared an analysis of the situation with me that, at least for now, has allowed me to breathe a sigh of relief.

In the first place, Chase's father is bound by the self-same parenting agreement he is trying to invoke to justify imposing needless surgery on him, and is required to notify Chase's mother promptly of any and all appointments made for Chase well in advance. There are serious repercussions for violating this, and indeed it was one of the main reasons that Chase's mother decided to enter the domestic violenc program with Chase. So if a circumcision is scheduled, or even a pre-op visit, Chase's mother must be informed -- and Judge Gillen agrees.

Secondly, Judge Gillen desperately wants to see Chase's mother sign the consent papers, so there is no way he can let the circumcision happen and render that moot. The whole point of arresting and jailing her was to make her face her intact son once last time and sign the paperwork. Or lock her up and throw away the key.

And lastly, Federal Judge Marra is very aware of what's going on, and it appears he doesn't like this whole predicament, which reeks of Elian Gonzalez. If Dennis & Co. tried to get Chase circumcised before Monday's federal hearing, there would be serious federal ramifications. 

For these reasons, it may be safe to assume that Chase will be safe up through Monday's hearing. The child may be scared witless, angry and sick to his stomach, but at least he won't be facing forced surgery.

Poor, poor child.

Why can't authorities just step in and demand that he be left alone?

You can help this child and his mother
As far as your author knows, it is still possible to help this mother financially. Now, more than ever, Chase's mother needs financial help. You can donate to Doctors Opposing Circumcision via PayPal and include the words "Chase's legal fund" in the note to earmark the donation for the mother's attorney, or visit the webpage for the fundraiser being administered by Doctors Opposing Circumcision, at http://chasesguardians.org.

Previous Posts:
FLORIDA UPDATE: Mother in Circumcision Dispute Fails to Appear in Court - Judge Orders Her Arrest
FLORIDA: Belligerent Judge Seeks the Circumcision of a 4 Year Old
FLORIDA UPDATE: 4-yo Circumcision Case Goes Federal
FLORIDA CIRCUMCISION SAGA: Mother Arrested, Child Nabbed

Post of Interest:
While a Florida court is mandating a mother relinquish her son to be circumcised without medical or clinical indication, in Israel, in a similar case, common sense prevails. Let us hope common sense prevails in American courts as well.

Common Sense in Israel

Thursday, May 14, 2015

FLORIDA CIRCUMCISION SAGA: Mother Arrested, Child Nabbed


Thoughts go out to this mother who has been arrested for protecting her child,
and for the child, who is now at the mercy of his father who wants to have him circumcised.

In my last post regarding the Florida circumcision case, we learned that the mother of the boy in this case has hired a new attorney, and that the attorney has filed a federal civil rights complaint against the father, the judge and the county sheriff's office on behalf of the child, moving this case from the state to the federal level.

I have now learned from many sources that this case may soon be drawing to a close; the mother in this case is in now jail, and the child has been handed over to the father to be circumcised.

According to people that I know that are on the ground in Florida, not too long ago, sheriff's deputies stormed the domestic violence shelter where mother and child were taking refuge, and took them out of there by force.

Desperate Efforts to Find Mother and Child
According to on-the-ground sources, police had been stepping up efforts in order to nab the child since the federal suit was filed last month, before the mother's lawyer was successful in having the federal court instate a restraining order to prevent mother and child from being arrested.

If what my sources say is true, the police were constantly harassing the child's grandmother by going to her house and interrogating her every few days in hopes of nabbing the child. They showed up several times and tried to deceive her into believing that they had permission to enter, when they did not. Law-savvy intactivists on the scene helping the mother queried the police department, and apparently the police were authorized to interrogate the grandmother with no real permission to do so.

And finally, according to my sources, the child's grandmother received a taunting anonymous call at 4PM.

"Is this Heather's mother?"
"Yes."
"Did you know that Chase has been handed over to his father? Do you think that's a good thing?"
"No, I don't."
"Well, your daughter is probably sobbing right now over what happened today. HA HA!"

And then the caller hung up.

The grandmother called the mother's lawyer immediately, who doubted the call's veracity and recommended staying calm.. Subsequently she called the mother (her daughter) who reassured her that she and her son were safe and no one had come to arrest them. The mother thought it was a hoax. (Apparently, similar calls were made in the past.)

One hour later, they were arrested and taken into custody.

What happens now?
It is assumed that the child is now in custody of the father, who is undoubtedly trying to have the child circumcised as soon as he can before federal courts can do anything about it. Previously, the belligerent judge who took the father's side, made it so that the father could have the child circumcised without mother needing to sign any consent form

The mother's new attorney has filed an emergency motion this very night for an injunction to stop the surgery, but those on the ground are doubtful that this action will make any difference.

It is looking like, unless authorities take any action, the father is going to take advantage and have the child circumcised against his will to assert his belligerence and spite the mother.

I can only imagine the mother's agony and despair in her jail cell, feeling that all she can do is cry, and I can only imagine this poor child terrified, anxiously awaiting what's going to happen to him next.

How despicable that this can happen this day in age in this, our country, where we're supposed to be looking for the basic human rights of others.

Reaction to the Federal Law Suit
It took the defendants long enough, but they have begun to react to the fact that they, the father, the judge and others, have to deal with this case in the federal court. The Facebook group dedicated to the defense of the child, Chase's Guardians have taken the liberty of posting the 20-page rebuttal on the part of the father.

Father Aims to Have the Case Dismissed, Resorts to Ad Hominem

 This is the child's father who is fighting to have him circumcised.
He is so desperate to have him circumcised, going as far as making
false allegations about his son needing surgery, harassing the mother
and her family, trying to make it difficult for the mother to make a legal case
for herself,  but it's the *mother* he accuses of being "mentally unstable."

It looks like the father himself has also hired a new lawyer, and it looks like he has his own tricks up his sleeve. Invoking Rooker and Feldman doctrine and other legalese, it looks like the father and his lawyer are trying to get the case thrown out of course outright, without it even being heard.

It looks like this really is no different than what happened in the state court, where the judge, siding with the father, refused to hear arguments made by parties trying to speak on the mother's behalf. The judge went as far as denying the child a guardian ad litem, making it clear he was just not interested in what the child had to say for himself, his feelings on the matter etc.

Nevermind the gag order and other restrictions the judge put on the mother to cripple her defense.

Furthermore, it looks like the father and his lawyer have taken the route of trying to attack the mother's character directly, by calling her "emotional" and "mentally unstable. The mother has no history of mental instability, so the father and his lawyer are pulling this out of thin air.

In addition, the father and lawyer proceed to call the mother a "fugitive," hiding in secret, when actually, they were legally staying at a Domestic Violence shelter.

They further accuse the mother of "indoctrinating" the child to fear undergoing surgery. It is beyond me how a child of 4 has to be "indoctrinated" to fear any procedure that is not therapeutic and only serves to appease the father's wishes.

It leads me to ask, if the father and lawyer are so sure they have a legal case, why go as far as to attack the mother herself?

To see what the child is actually thinking, why isn't an expert hired to analyze what the child actually thinks to see if what the father is saying is actually true?

More Details on the Father's Behavior
Furthermore, sources tell me that the father can't even afford Chase's circumcision, and that he plans on using Florida Medicaid to pay for the child's circumcision. Apparently, the father can't afford to pay mother more than 200 monthly in child support, but somehow musters enough money to hire a new lawyer for the federal lawsuit against him.

It is clear; the one who is mentally unstable is clearly the father. Nowhere is this clearer than in his determination to impose needless surgery on his healthy, non-consenting son, going as far as making up false allegations about his son needing surgery (His 3-yo son peeing on his leg? At that age what child doesn't?), sicking the police on his grandmother, and now, attacking the mother directly.

State Judge: Constitutional Rights? What Constitutional Rights?

Instead of defending the child's constitutional rights, Judge Gillen
will have been responsible for the hastening oftheir deliberate violation.

As if trying to feign dissimulation, Judge Gillen tries to play the innocent by reiterating that all he did was enforce the written agreement that he parents agreed to three years ago.

This is a bit of an understatement; the judge gave the mother an ultimatum that she was to hand over the child and sign the consent papers for his non-therapeutic surgery or sit in jail until she did. He refused to read amicus curiae filed by spokespeople in her defense, and refused to allow the child to have a guardian ad litem speak on his behalf. Not to mention the judge's gag order on the mother and her prohibition from going to anyone for legal or financial help. He further signed a warrant for the mother's arrest.

Essentially the judge clearly sided with the father and decided to dismiss anything the mother or anyone speaking on her behalf had to say, and took it upon himself to court-order the circumcision of the child who is healthy, not suffering any medical condition that necessitates surgery, and has expressed that he does not want this intrusion upon his body.

The judge, as well as the father and his lawyer argue that the state court decision was made "in the best interests of the child," when the interests of the child were never considered, only the father's interests and his appeasement. The judge essentially denied the mother and child a voice, and then further tried to vilify the mother when she appropriately fled to a Domestic Violence center.

It also seems to escape the judge, the father and his lawyer, that the child was less than a year old when the agreement was signed; the child is now 4 and a half, and the circumstances have changed. The child is older now, fully aware and conscious of his own body and his surroundings. The mother now has information she didn't have three years ago when she signed the agreement. Additionally, there is nothing wrong with the child. The child is not suffering any kind of medical condition that necessitates surgery.

It has to be asked why, given the new circumstances, the judge refused to acknowledge them, and stayed that the written agreement ought to be enforced and fulfilled.

"Judge Gillen did not harm, and does not represent any real or imminent threat," reads his defense, this despite placing a gag order on the mother, placing limitations on her, throwing out amicus curiae filed on her behalf, denying the child a guardian ad litem, ordering the mother to sign consent forms or face jail, and signing the arrest that would cause her to go into hiding.

The judge, and everyone else involved against the mother all seem to dance around the crux of the argument; that that which is outlined in the invoked written agreement is actually constitutional and in the child's best interest, especially given the fact that the child is older and not the same child as when that agreement was signed.

They all seem to continue to insist that the child, whose body is in question, not be represented or heard.

His order for the arrest of Chase's mother, and his threat of keeping her in jail until she signs the paperwork consenting to the circumcision ALSO directly affects Chase and his personal freedoms. Because HIS needs, wishes and constitutional rights were ignored by Gillen in the initial case. Enforcement of that order would leave Chase with no avenues open to protect himself from harm.

Whose Emotions and Mental Stability Ought to be Examined?
I find it interesting that this child's father has the gall to point in the direction of the mother and call her "emotional" and "mentally unstable," given that it is the father, not the mother, who is dragging this out. This whole process is in itself traumatizing to the child, not to mention the emotional trauma that the child would suffer if he underwent needless amputative surgery on his most intimate part of his body.

It is the father who is willing to spend thousands of dollars and precious time to see to it that the child is circumcised as he wishes. He hasn't seen his son in over 70 days. All he'd have to do to see him is just drop the case. Instead, making sure his son's foreskin is surgically removed is far more important to him than seeing him.

Questions
I'm no lawyer, and in all honesty, it's hard to decipher all the legalese in the counterargument the father's lawyer presents. It seems that some of the allegations in there are rather shady.

For example, one excerpt reads that:

"...at no time prior to the father attempting to arrange for the circumcision did the mother ever seek to modify the final judgement to raise the issue of any alleged change of circumstance as to why the said circumcision should not take place as previously agreed to, nor did she attempt to raise any constitutional issues on behalf of the child."

This seems strange, for I thought the mother spent an entire year trying to do just that, only to be dismissed by the judge, along with anyone trying to help her. The judge was not interested in the constitutionality of what was outlined in the agreement, only in making sure it was enforced.

The father's attorney alleges that the mother didn't exhaust all the instances where she could have challenged the court decision. Apparently, when the court of appeals denied her appeal without comment, she should have requested further comment (Which the judge was not in the obligation of providing?).

This mother basically had all the doors to her avenues slammed in her face by a belligerent judge, yet somehow she was still supposed to appeal to him again? It doesn't make sense.

In another instance, the father's lawyer tries to call the invocation of Boldt Vs. Boldt, where it was ruled a 12 year old could decide for himself what he wants, "misplaced," arguing that the child in this case is "legally too immature to express opinion." Actually, the crux of the Boldt Vs. Boldt case WAS that the child in question "legally immature" to express his own opinion. Boldt Vs. Boldt sets the legal precedent where, much to the chagrin of the parent who wants him circumcised, baring a medical condition where surgery is necessary, the child ought to be consulted in a matter as pertinent to him as the future of his own body, particularly, his most private and intimate part.

Conclusion
At the crux of this entire fiasco is the fact that the person whose body is in question is being completely ignored. The child in question is not suffering any medical condition that necessitates surgery. The father clearly wants the child circumcised for his own appeasement, and, it could be argued, to antagonize his ex wife. The judge is clearly not interested in the best interest of the child, but that of his father, to whom he has clearly become partial to.

If the father goes through with imposing elective, non-medical surgery on this child, this will essentially be court-ordered child abuse, and the judge, the sheriff and the father are all conspirators.

This man is a monster, authorities need to step in to prevent him from imposing needless surgery on the child, the federal courts ought to hear the mother out, see what the child has to say about matters regarding his own body, the judge ought to award the mother full custody of the child, and put a permanent restraining order on his father, so that this mother and her family, but mostly, her son, can rest at ease knowing that they'll be safe.

No, this needs to go a step further; this mother ought to launch a counter suit against this man, his lawyer, the police, the judge etc,. for harassing her and her family, and terrorizing her son.

 Prayers and thoughts go out to Chase, the child in this case.

The circumcision of a 4-year-old does not look pretty.
My heart breaks as I imagine the pain and trauma
poor little Chase will have to go through.


You can help this child and his mother
As far as your author knows, it is still possible to help this mother financially. Now, more than ever, Chase's mother needs financial help. You can donate to Doctors Opposing Circumcision via PayPal and include the words "Chase's legal fund" in the note to earmark the donation for the mother's attorney, or visit the webpage for the fundraiser being administered by Doctors Opposing Circumcision, at http://chasesguardians.org.

Most Recent News Articles:
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Previous Posts:
FLORIDA UPDATE: Father Intent on Circumcising 4-yo Son Seeks to Legally Paralyze Mother
FLORIDA UPDATE: Mother in Circumcision Dispute Fails to Appear in Court - Judge Orders Her Arrest
FLORIDA: Belligerent Judge Seeks the Circumcision of a 4 Year Old
FLORIDA UPDATE: 4-yo Circumcision Case Goes Federal

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