L48 Anthro 3283 Chapter Notes - Chapter 7: Child Protective Services, Intellectual Disability, Valproate
Fadiman Ch. 7 (78-92)
• Neil saw his job was to practice good medicine, and the Lee’s job was to comply
o Lack of compliance constituted child endangerment, a form of child abuse
o If didn’t report, he might have committed a crime
o Wanted Hmongs to understand that there were certain elements of medicine that
we understood better than they did and that there were certain rules they had to
follow with their kid’s lives
• Healthcare works, teachers etc. are protected from civil or criminal charges after they file
abuse reports even if they are found to be wrong
o With a minor, the state has the right to force the patient to comply with the
treatment
• Neil had no desire to have Lia’s parents prosecuted, and no legal action was ever taken
against them; just wanted her to be safe
• Merced Department of Child Protective Services filed a petition for Lia to be a child of
the court
o June 26, 1985 she was removed from her home again for at least 6 months; her
parents were not notified in advance that she would be taken
o Residents disagreed with Neil’s decision, but could not think of a better
alternative
• Dan Murphy was astounded, thought they were good caretakers and loved their child; if
he was in another country and somebody took my kid for reasons I didn’t understand, I
would consider violent alternatives
• This confirmed the Hmong’s beliefs that the doctors were not to be trusted and they were
in league with other coercive authorities
o 2 Hmong people said that it would be okay if they didn’t love the child, but they
care for her a lot, more than anyone else in the house
o Hmong parents believe parents are responsible for the child’s welfare and for
deciding the child’s medical treatment
• Differences in power; doctors have power to call the police, which Hmong do not have
• One Hmong parent said, that no matter how much we don’t know about technology,
human health, we don’t want any doctor to treat any human being like an animal; animals
don’t understand but human beings do, we do know how to talk
• If court did not decide within a year that Lia could return to her family, the Lee’s would
permanently lose custody
• Lia used to having things her way; she was the princess, the special child, strong willed,
ruled the house, but a sweetie; lived with the Kordas
• Lia inflicted numerous injuries in other children ranging from bruises to cuts requiring
stitches; required supervision
• Kordas were paid a high fee of $1000 to take care of Lia; her family spent less and took
care of all 7 children
• Kordas took her to 2 appointments a week and followed medications, but still seizing;
seized even more than with her family; nurses at MCMC did not talk nice to her, were
degrading
o They gave her meds that made her seem drunk, which made Dee think that’s why
her parents didn’t give her the meds
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
