The right of parents to determine the course of medical treatment for their children has suffered yet another slap in the face.
On April 29, 2013, a hearing took place regarding the Gestapo style abduction by Child Protective Services of 5 month old baby Sammy after his parents, Alex and Anna Nikolayev, took him out of Sutter Memorial Hospital in Sacramento.
They left Sutter Memorial in order to seek a second opinion at Kaiser Permanente, a rival hospital, for Sammy’s flu-like symptoms.
Anna and Alex sought medical treatment at Kaiser because they were extremely concerned about the quality of care baby Sammy was receiving at Sutter Memorial.
When doctors at Sutter Memorial began discussing the possibility of heart surgery for the infant, the alarmed parents took the baby and left as the medical staff would not discharge Sammy so they could seek another opinion regarding the child’s heart murmur.
“If we got the one mistake after another, I don’t want to have my baby have surgery in the hospital where I don’t feel safe,” Anna said.
She added, ”We went from one hospital to another. We just wanted to be safe, that he is in good hands.”
While at the second hospital, medical staff determined Sammy was fine. The attending doctor at Kaiser said in a written statement, “I do not have concern for the safety of the child at home with his parents.”
Despite the all clear from the medical staff at Kaiser, CPS escorted by armed police showed up at the Nikolayev’s home the next day and took baby Sammy in outrageous and dramatic fashion.
Anna’s home video of the incident shows police entering the home.
“I’m going to grab your baby, and don’t resist, and don’t fight me ok?” a Sacramento police officer is heard saying in the video.
Prior to abducting the baby without so much as a warrant, Alex was slammed against a wall, pushed to the ground and his house keys forcibly removed from him after meeting with officers outside.
Worst of all, after taking the baby, CPS returned the child to the protective custody of the exact same hospital the parents had originally fled to seek a second medical opinion – Sutter Memorial – for wanting to perform unnecessary open heart surgery on the infant.
Court Hearing a Slap in the Face to Parent Rights
At a hearing on the matter, Sacramento Superior Court Judge Paul Seave determined that custody should be immediately returned to the parents.
The Nikolayevs can now see Sammy whenever they want. They also supposedly now have full control over the child’s medical decisions.
In reality, however, the Nikolayevs are still under the thumb of CPS and their rights as parents continue to be violated.
Rather than the child returning home where the parents would continue under the care of medical staff at Kaiser Permanente which was their original choice, baby Sammy was transferred by court order to yet a third hospital – Stanford Medical Center.
The judge also ruled that Anna and Alex must follow all medical advice from now on, including not taking their child from Stanford Medical Center without proper discharge.
Why are Anna and Alex being forced to follow the medical advice of Stanford Medical Center and not the medical staff at Kaiser Permanente who determined the child was safe at home for the time being?
Why is this child still in the hospital and not at home and under the supervision of the medical staff the parents originally chose?
Most alarming, Child Protective Services is still involved with this case even after its Gestapo style abduction of the child as captured on home video.
While Sammy will be returned to the custody of his parents upon discharge from Stanford Medical Center, CPS will continue to monitor the situation with regular home visits by a social worker.
Why is CPS being permitted by the court to monitor this child when the parents did nothing wrong?
Inexplicably, Alex and Anna are still vulnerable to future action by CPS for the “crime” of seeking the medical care for Sammy that they saw fit.
Welcome to Soviet Amerika comrades.
Sarah, The Healthy Home Economist
Sources: Judge Orders Transport of Baby Sammy to Stanford Medical Center
Baby Taken By CPS Returned, Parents Ordered To ‘Follow All Medical Advice’
If this story makes your blood boil, and it should, then you should read about the Henderson family in Los Angeles, how CPS took their children years ago, then took their new 5 week old son on Labor Day weekend so they wouldn’t be able to do anything until the following Tuesday; they removed the breast-fed infant at gunpoint (using LAPD thugs) saying that the infant was in danger of physical or sexual abuse, while leaving all the other children with the mother in an unmonitored visit. The children still have not been returned. During this ordeal, the Hendersons lost their family (even the children are split up in different homes), their home, their car, his job; they spent 2 months in jail due to a false accusation; their children saw them arrested and handcuffed, saw the police break down their front door with a battering ram and without a warrant. It’s criminal, the injustices they have suffered at the hands of CPS/DCFS.
Once CPS enters your life, it never goes away. Even Oprah said this. The worst thing you can do to anyone is make a complaint to CPS about someone. Their life will never be the same. If one hospital says the baby is fine and should go home, why isn’t that done? Are they planning to operate on the child with the “excuse” of a heart murmur just because maybe this hospital needs more income?A third opinion, even a fourth, should be gotten before attempting such a dangerous thing on a baby. The parents are trying to protect their baby.The probable reason the parents left the first hospital without discharge was so that they could get to the 2nd before CPS got there and told the doctors what to say and do. Would anyone want heart surgery done on their baby needlessly?
This is disgusting and scary… and being outraged is all well and good but it does nothing unless someone acts! Why are there no lawyers involved? Why are the parents still being treated this way? Why are these abuses allowed to continue and no protests? If I could I would organize a protest and try to help them find lawyers… but I’m a poor college student who is barely getting by, a daughter, and a household to care for. I would march, I would tell others, but unless the people with know-how and means organize protests or new hearing and lawsuits the rest of us can’t help. Please someone consider that and get on this, we need to draw the line before it gets erased all together.
It is clear that these parents were acting responsibly based on the fact that they went to the hospital in the first place with a trust that the hospital would do its job properly (it didn’t) and left when they became aware of negligence on the hospital’s part and went directly to another hospital. CPS had no place in this situation, nor did the police for that matter. If Sutter was truly concerned, it would have welcomed a second opinion for the baby, not discouraged it.
“Much ado about parents’ rights rather than the child’s welfare. Many people consult numerous doctors before getting a correct diagnosis.”
These parents did not need CPS to determine the child’s welfare as they clearly had the THEIR baby’s best interest at heart, good try though. The parents were discouraged from getting a second opinion, so you prove in your own response that these parents did the correct thing by leaving what they rightly perceived as a potentially dangerous situation for their child by leaving to get a second opinion.
“Many people are arguing, seeing children as ‘property’ and parents as owners.”
Another good try at trying to muddy the waters. The state views children as property, parents view children as FAMILY.
Thank you for this response. The ignorance in the previous response was bothering me, and you have addressed this well.
Parents would have to authorize surgery, a separate issue from initial examination, tests and diagnosis; if not in agreement, they can refuse. Then hospital may deem surgery necessary and seek court order; parents have right to appear in court; court would seek another opinion. Parents left hospital AGAINST MEDICAL ADVICE (AMA) hence initiating a CPS intervention. Court very reasonably ordered a third medical opinion. Much ado about parents’ rights rather than the child’s welfare. Many people consult numerous doctors before getting a correct diagnosis. In case of two discordant caretakers, 3rd opinion is needed. Parents not medically qualified. Many people are arguing, seeing children as ‘property’ and parents as owners. CPS seeks to intervene for those who cannot speak for themselves.
Clearly CPS was not thinking of the child by taking it away from loving parents who were adequately caring for their child. I know many who leave the hospital against AMA but that does not make them criminals (nor does it require a CPS intervention). In fact, parents who leave hospitals like this do it to save their child’s lives. And in this case, that is what these parents were trying to do. We live in a democracy with a Constitution, not a totalitarian state. It’s CPS that is treating a child like property here- these parents are doing nothing less than treating their child as their child. And certainly the actions of CPS in this case had nothing to do about “speaking for those who can’t speak for themselves.” They were doing the bidding of a negligent hospital- and when this CPS worker went to the home, she told the Mom she could see she took care of her baby well – and then after she snatched him- she refused to tell the Mom where she was taking him, stating the Mom was currently irrational. I would have been irrational in such circumstances, but this Mom was actually EXTREMELY rational and there is absolutely nothing in that exchange (all caught on video) that could be deemed irrational. The CPS worker manipulated and lied- and clearly this is not someone who has this child’s best interest at heart.
FOSTER CARE IS AMERICA’s NEW CASH COW: Don’t pretend that CPS cares about kids. No one would believe you anyway. Your answer is sickening and borderline criminal. Checkmout all the evidence of corruption at FalselyAccusedMoms.com
what about the hospital that said the baby needed open heart surgery??? are they being investigated??????
UPDATE:
The last name of the parents appears to be Russian, can you imagine what they are thinking assuming they immigrated to be free of such tactics.
What a relief that the judge did the right thing in returning full custody to the parents! I suspect that there may be more to the medical details than what has been revealed. Who knows why they were referred to a third hospital. CPS does have a responsibility to keep children healthy and alive. Perhaps the judge felt it prudent to just check in on the family in this case. If he didn’t do this and something happened, we would be in an outrage. Perhaps he’s just erring on the side of safety. Hopefully the doctors at this new hospital will advice treatment options that are in agreement with the parents wishes and also in the best interest of the baby.
Oh Steph, these parents demonstrated responsibility from the beginning. Never should the police or CPS have been involved in the first place. If the first hospital was truly concerned, it would have welcomed a second opinion for the baby, not discouraged it. Sutter could even have gone as far as to offer an escort to the second hospital. (Notice I said offer not forced).
I’m actively trying to conceive with my fiance. Stories like this really scare me. I already expect to have trouble with school, because I don’t want to vaccinate. The thought that these horrible things can be forced is disgusting and terrifying.
There is a form to fill out with the school and they typically don’t bat an eye. They either want the record or the exemption form.