Parents branded child abusers by NHS ‘bullies’ … simply for refusing a heel prick test on their newborn baby
‘It should have been the most joyous moment of their lives, one they would look back on fondly for years to come.
But for Tony Shepherd and his Polish fiancee Viola, the weeks after the birth of their baby were filled with disbelief, followed by desperation and finally outright terror – when a small act of perfectly legal defiance led the NHS to brand them child abusers.
The couple could never have imagined that their refusal to have a simple heel prick test for their son would escalate into a full-blown investigation by midwives, social workers and even the police; or that before their son Charlie was even three weeks old, he would have to endure two intimate internal examinations.’
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