In a heartbreaking series of recent events, a 3-year old named Noah McAdams is forced by the courts to undergo chemotherapy and then wrongfully taken into custody by the State in what some are calling an act of medical kidnapping.

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In early April, three-year-old Noah McAdams was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital (“JHACH”). Noah’s parents, Taylor and Josh, reluctantly agreed to two rounds of chemotherapy, after being made aware the courts could and would force them to comply. They also implemented additional supportive therapies proven to treat cancer. After the second round of chemo concluded, Noah and his parents celebrated that there was no longer any detectable cancer cells in his blood. However, due to the laws in Florida, children under 18 are required to undergo the full recommended treatment plan of the pediatric oncologist, which is typically 2-4 years, regardless of the progress or desire for alternative opinions or treatments. Yes, children are being forced to continue undergoing toxic treatments even when their bodies are free of any cancer.

Noah’s informed and dedicated parents decided to pursue a second opinion and scheduled him to be seen by a specialty physician in Kentucky. Upon notification that the family was seeking an alternative opinion, JHACH proceeded to call them numerous times with demands. Ultimately, Johns Hopkins contacted government agencies, and reported the family for not showing up to their appointment, even though they had been notified and a full explanation of the plan to seek another opinion had been expressed to doctors multiple times by Taylor. After being hunted down like criminals for simply exercising their rights, Noah was removed from his loving, attentive parents, placed into state custody, and returned with a stranger (case worker) to Florida. Upon his return he was admitted to Johns Hopkins where he stayed and was examined for 2 days, kept in a crib bed (enclosed cage-like contraption meant to contain infants during hospitalization) and forced to wear diapers, despite being an active, potty-trained 3 year old. JHACH, and the hospital in Kentucky that assessed Noah prior to his return to Florida, have confirmed various times that Noah’s blood tests continue to indicate that he is cancer free.

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The media refuses to cover the totality of this story and continues to paint a picture of neglectful parents refusing life saving treatment for their child. That simply couldn’t be further from the truth. Noah was thriving with his parents; his body was being supported by specific and proven cancer inhibiting nutritional components, supplements, herbs, and other alternative therapies. Taylor and Josh are devoted, nurturing, informed parents who have dedicated their lives to finding the best treatment options for their son. They have notebooks of data, detailed daily assessments of Noah’s physical and emotional state, every sleep cycle, and every behavioral inconsistency. The amount of care these parents dedicate to their son is admirable and a far cry from neglect. Not only was it outwardly obvious that Noah was healing while in their care, but internal assessments also indicated a healthy, flourishing child. Since being taken into state custody, however, Noah’s physical and emotional health has visibly declined. The preemptive steroids ordered before commencing the next round of chemotherapy have left Noah swollen and irritable and taken quite the toll on his little body causing him to have bloody stools and consuming, severe muscle weakness, preventing him from walking. He has experienced multiple known side effects of the various medications he’s been given, but symptoms have been repeatedly dismissed by the healthcare providers, despite some of them being documented as cause for being seen by your physician immediately.

In reality, chemotherapy drugs and coinciding protocols are risky and carry many dangerous side effects, including secondary malignancies and death. Any parent is reasonable to have concerns about the use of these poisonous agents for their child. Adult cancer patients are allowed the freedom to explore alternative treatments, to pursue second opinions, to pick and choose which actions they do or do not take to address their disease. This same liberty should be given to children and their families. Our youth deserve more than the forced poison they’re presented with. They deserve more than the 4% of funds from cancer research they’re given. They deserve to have bodily autonomy and to seek a plan of care that they are comfortable with. They deserve to make decisions free of threats from a for-profit industry more focused on their bottom line than patient outcomes.

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Despite Noah’s multiple tests showing his body is cancer free, an emergency order for chemo has been proposed and this dangerous and damaging protocol is set to continue. Despite Taylor and Josh’s cooperation, despite evidence of their dedication to and care of their child, despite the overwhelming fact that Noah was healthier and happier in the care of his family, the state of Florida continues to pursue this heinous overreach of power. Coercing families to accede to their children undergoing medical treatment they are not comfortable with is a direct violation of human rights, informed consent, Nuremberg Code of Ethics, and frightful abuse of the government’s authority. The only ones neglecting Noah are the ones who assisted in having him ripped away from his loving, healing parents.

If you would like to contribute their legal defense fund, learn more here.

Let John Hopkins Children’s Hospital know your opinion on this matter via through their Facebook Page.

For more on how you can help put an end to mandatory medical procedures in Florida, please ‘Like’ and share posts by our friends at the Florida Freedom Alliance.

In follow up to the heart wrenching story of Noah McAdams being taken into Florida state custody and #forcedchemotherapy The Florida Health Alliance has contacted the Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital with the following:

Updates on Noah’s story
FloridaFreedomAlliance.org/Noah

Johns Hopkins Second Opinion Article
http://bit.ly/2w9k1uH

#endmedicalkidnapping

#secondopinionsarealwaysacceptable

#NoahsLaw#MedicalFreedomForNoah

 

*Article originally appeared at Green Med Info.