Alfie Evans and the ever-encroaching overreach of the state, diminishment of parental rights

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May 1, 2018

Alfie Evans' father (Daily Mail/YouTube)

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ALFIE EVANS, SOCIALIZED HEALTHCARE, AND LACK OF PARENTAL RIGHTS

TOM LAMPRECHT: Harry, a few months back, we did a story on a young toddler in England named Charlie Gard. If you remember, this young man had a terminal illness. His parents were told they could not seek further help and they were denied the right to bring the young boy over to America for treatment.

Harry, unfortunately, this same type of situation has happened again, this time, in Liverpool, England. The toddler’s name is Alfie Evans. His parents, Tom Evans and Katie James, have been denied the opportunity by the British government to take their young son over to Italy where the Vatican has offered help and where the Italian government has offered citizenship for the young boy.

Harry, obviously, a number of people look at this and say, “What extreme overreach by the government.”

DR. REEDER: The Charlie Gard situation identified the horrific nature of the overreach of the government in Great Britain and noted how it was very much related to cost saving and socialist healthcare as well as denial of the supremacy of parental rights, even to the point of keeping the child from an immigration status when everybody was willing to pay for it but they determined — “for the sake of the child,” we’re going to put the child to death.

Now we’ve got another situation with a child. The Pope has intervened with his plea and the Vatican has intervened by approaching the Italian government, which has offered to make the child a citizen of Italy and take full responsibility for the child. And the famous Bambino Roman Catholic Children’s Hospital has already secured treatment for the child in an effort to save the child’s life.

DESPITE OFFERS OF TREATMENT AND IMMIGRATION, GREAT BRITAIN REFUSED TO LET CHILD GO

Not only have the authorities in Great Britain decided that the parents must end the life support systems on the child, but they are not allowed because, for the sake of the child, if you do this, you are going to cause the child unnecessary suffering. Therefore, we are going to intervene and say — no, we’re going to pull the life support system.

And, by the way, you’ve got the child making a vote — they took the life support systems and the doctors said, “He’ll only last a few moments,” and, as of the moment that we are recording this program, he is still breathing. Clearly, he wants to live and has far outstripped their prognostications that he would die in minutes or hours. (Editor’s Note: Alfie Evans passed away last week.)

What you have here is the erosion of something that is foundational to any humane society and for the functioning of any society, not only marriage and family — as defined as one man, one woman, one life — with parental responsibility for children that have been entrusted to them by the Creator.

THE STATE IS NOW REDEFINING PARENTAL ABUSE

And we have always affirmed the supremacy of parental rights. Now, we know we’re in a fallen world so the state has certain responsibilities if parents use their rights for the destruction of the child’s well-being, physically, emotionally, etc. And if that happens, then we have a system of court appeals in order to appropriately intervene on behalf of the child when parental rights are used for the outright physical, mental or emotional abuse of the child and we have always used that in western civilization in those extraordinary moments.

But, of course, the tenuous thing is what do you declare as abusive? Well, now we have a state declaring parents are abusive by trying to get the treatment that would give their child an extended life, maybe even a cure in life or comfort in the thing that the child is facing through the expertise of a renowned hospital.

And England has said — no, we have decided your efforts are actually abusive of the child and, therefore, we strip you of your rights and affirm the supremacy of the ever-encroaching power of the state over the children in families.

In other words, the state is now declaring its supremacy over a child’s nurturing. The state has declared reputable medical institutions and means to treat the child as injurious to the child, removing life support from the child for the death of the child.

What we see is an ever-encroaching overreach of the state and diminishing of the family and, specifically, the erosion of parental rights in the caring of children and now children are seen as children of the state, not children of a family with rights that are to be protected by the state.

IS THIS HAPPENING IN AMERICA?

TOM LAMPRECHT: Harry, lest anyone thinks, “Well, that’s over in Great Britain; that wouldn’t happen here,” Rhode Island has recently enacted a law stripping parents of their right to object to providing treatment for gender transition to children who show signs of gender dysphoria. The law also prohibited medical professionals from refusing to provide or refer for gender transition services.

Out in California, they recently passed the “California Healthy Youth Act.” That bill deals with teaching young people in their schools what many would call perversions of a Biblical sexual lifestyle. In Orange County, the school district superintendent, Ronald Wenkart, says parents do not have the right to opt out their children from this sexual education, which in part they use materials from Planned Parenthood.

DR. REEDER: Tom, even on this program, as I said to you when we were talking about producing this program, the curriculum that parents do not have the right to remove their children from in Orange County, California is curriculum that, on this program, you and I cannot read the paragraphs and I said to you — and you, of course, agreed — “We cannot put this on the air.”

The curriculum that is describing unnatural sex that is more than unnatural, and distasteful and beyond perversion and parents who are aware of the content produced by Planned Parenthood that exalts, extolls, explains and commends perverse acts of unnatural sex are now not allowed to opt their children out.

And here’s what the educator says: You cannot take them out simply because you want them to; we are going to teach them about this breadth of sexual experiences. You are free to oppose it with your teaching in your home and your church.

And now the state has assumed moments where they are now going to put their stamp of approval upon parents having the right to teach their children not to engage in the destructive activities of unnatural and perverse sexuality. And, by the way, your churches and your homes, if you want to oppose this, you can in your homes.

THE GOVERNMENT NOW ASSUMES FALSE POSITION OF AUTHORITY

Look how gracious our government has become that they will allow us to actually speak about it, but they won’t allow us to protect our children from this vile curriculum. I am amazed at the overreach of the government through the educational system and control of our children here in America.

Therefore, when you look at England and the Charlie Gard and Alfie Evans case, just look right here. Look at Rhode Island, where medical personnel are declared that you must participate, recommend and refer children in gender dysphoria — a disorder of mind that we have addressed through processes of maturation in the past — you must commend and refer these children and participate in the recommendations of children to be mutilated chemically and surgically that will scar them for the rest of their life.

And parents who oppose their children’s request, that’s not a decision the state is going to allow you to make — this is a decision we are going to make and we will facilitate these therapies and mutilations of the child.

TOM LAMPRECHT: And Dr. Michelle Cretella, who is the president of The American College of Pediatricians, has come out very, very sternly and said, “This is child abuse.”

DR. REEDER: And it will lead to what we see in England, which is infanticide of children who cannot speak for themselves by not allowing their parents to speak for them and the state declaring its sovereignty and its definitions of lives worth saving and keeping.

TAKE NOTE THAT FREE HEALTHCARE IS OBVIOUSLY NOT FREE

This is another piece of evidence that people are finding out — what is declared as free healthcare is not very free. It not only costs you through the increasing taxes, but it also costs you in terms of your freedom to make decisions for healthcare in the life of your children.

What do you do now? Well, take full advantage of the opportunities you have to raise your children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, who has declared, “I will be a God to you and to your children after you.” Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, “You shall be saved; you and your household. For the promises for you and your children and for all who are far off, even as many who shall call upon the Lord to be saved.”

Dr. Harry L. Reeder III is the Senior Pastor of Briarwood Presbyterian Church in Birmingham.

This podcast was transcribed by Jessica Havin, editorial assistant for Yellowhammer News, who has transcribed some of the top podcasts in the country and whose work has been featured in a New York Times Bestseller.