| June 20, 2007 | Townsend Letter Articles Now Posted |
| | Three articles from the Townsend Letter for Doctors & Patients have now been posted…[read]…
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| April 30, 2007 | An Interview with Christine Maggiore |
| | Like most people, I hadn’t spent much time thinking about HIV and AIDS. The issue hadn’t touched me personally, nor anyone with whom I’ve worked as a birth doula and childbirth educator. I had no reason to question the accuracy of HIV tests nor to contemplate the consequences of an HIV positive diagnosis. Then I was asked to interview a mother dealing with the death of her child for this issue of the magazine, and I was introduced to Christine Maggiore, author and mother of two…[more]
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| April 10, 2007 | Christine Maggiore Challenges Dr. Peter Flegg |
| | Dr Peter Flegg wrote a letter of comment to Elle magazine in reponse to Elle’s article on Christine Maggiore and the death of her 3 year old daughter, Eliza Jane Scovill (September 2006, “The Believer”). Dr Flegg’s letter, published in the November 2006 issue of Elle, suggested EJ died as result of Maggiore’s “denial.” After reading Flegg’s letter in Elle, Maggiore looked up and called Flegg to clarify and discuss his views. After a pleasant exchange, Flegg and Maggiore engaged in an email correspondence which ended with her questions to Flegg left unanswered and a promise by Flegg to send on a document he wrote in support of the LA County Coroner’s decision left unfulfilled.
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| March 7, 2007 | Paul Fleiss Support Letters |
| | These letters of witness testimony are among evidence submitted to the Medical Board of California in the case of Dr Paul Fleiss, one of Eliza Jane Scovill's pediatricians. Dr. Fleiss is charged with medical negligence by the Medical Board of California. The Medical Board charges allege that Eliza Jane suffered from “failure to thrive” which Dr Fleiss failed to notice. These letters from EJ’s teachers and babysitters attest to a vibrantly healthy, exceptionally intelligent and very energetic child who did not suffer from any signs of illness, serious or otherwise.
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| January 1, 2007 | Witness Testimony (pdf file) |
| | A collection of witness statements requested by the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) were gathered by the Maggiore-Scovill family in preparation for a hearing with the Department of Child and Family Services (DCFS) regarding their right to maintain custody of their son Charlie. A DCFS investigation into the family began on September 20, 2005 prompted by the LA County Coroner’s conclusion four days earlier that AIDS had caused the sudden death of Eliza Jane Scovill on May 16, 2005. Since Charlie had tested HIV negative multiple times, the DCFS hearing ended quickly and the letters were never presented as evidence in the case. Seven months later, Los Angeles Police Department detectives pursuing charges of negligent homicide against Christine Maggiore learned of the letters during an interrogation of the Maggiore-Scovill’s former nanny and immediately requested copies. On May 1, 2006, attorneys representing the Maggiore-Scovill family provided LAPD with the letters as they appear here, with the names and contact information redacted. The personal information was removed to prevent further interrogations of friends, neighbors, business associates, babysitters, school parents and teachers which many had described as traumatizing. LAPD investigators did not question the decision to redact the personal data from the letters. They finally ended their investigation four months later on September 15, 2006 with no charges filed against Christine Maggiore.
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| November 1, 2006 | Jane Hill Challenges David Crowe Over the Expertise of Dr. Mohammed Al-Bayati |
| | A debate between Jane Hill and David Crowe over the expertise of Dr. Mohammed Al-Bayati and other matters can be found at: rethinkingaids.com/Challenges/Crowe-Hill.html.
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| | Christine Maggiore’s Letter in ELLE Magazine |
| | After extensive negotiation ELLE magazine allowed a letter by Christine Maggiore to be published in the November, 2006 issue of the magazine. Also included is a short defense of the LA Country Coroner’s autopsy report by the magazine and a letter highly critical of Christine Maggiore by Peter Flegg, a British AIDS doctor.
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| October 27, 2006 | …What I can't understand…is the refusal of the scientific community to engage in dialogue that explores legitimate questions… |
| | To Charles Ornstein
LA Times Dear Charles, I have been following the Maggiore story and fully understand that every story has two sides and that it’s human nature to become stuck on the side that makes us “right.” What I can’t understand however, is the refusal of the scientific community to engage in dialogue that explores legitimate questions. This is an industry in a country that claims to link science to discovery. In that context, the adamancy of a segment of our so-called scientists who fail to consider and respond to emerging questions about the HIV=AIDS hypothesis doesn’t make any sense, unless, of course there is something to hide. That unwillingness to consider an open debate in and of itself is suspicious. At a minimum, why wouldn’t a study be conducted that follows people (like Christine Maggiore) who are HIV positive, chose not to take the drugs, yet have long outlived the HIV=AIDS death sentence? It is such a basic question. What happens in the absence of the drugs? So, we have two sides. On the one hand we have people who have been labeled “dissidents” who don’t want to take drugs. On the other, we have an industry that generates billions by forcing these drugs on people and treating them like criminals if they don’t oblige. Yes, the stakes are high. The dissidents have their health riding on it and the “establishment” has an empire to consider. But really it’s a survival story for both. Whether it’s the people belonging to the establishment preserving their wealth, prestige, ego and reputations, or those who want to preserve their health and freedom, both sides’ lives depend on which argument prevails. As a result, the debate itself goes nowhere. Unfortunately, we have other societal structures that suffer from this same syndrome of ignorance and arrogance, which means that we end up being a country led by individuals who think that their puerile refusal to listen and respond to alternative views is acceptable. Deluded or deliberate, it doesn’t matter. The results are the same and they speak for themselves. Thank you, Donna Flagg Principal
The Krysalis Group, LLC
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| October 24, 2006 | Comparison of the EJ Scovill case with Destiny Jacobo |
| | Dr. Mohammed Al-Bayati has compared the autopsy of EJ Scovill with Destiny Jacobo. In both cases Dr. James Ribe was involved with the autopsy and report. Interestingly enough, in the EJ Scovill case the medical examiners claimed that EJ died of pneumonia despite the evidence, which led to the conclusion that EJ died of AIDS, which led to the conclusion that her parents were responsible. By contrast, in the Destiny Jacobo case, Dr. Al-Bayati notes strong evidence for serious pneumonia which was ignored by the medical examiners. Instead they claimed sexual and physical abuse. Again, this conclusion led to the conclusion that the death was the parents fault. Sadly, in the Destiny Jacobo case the mother was advised to plead guilty (to get a lighter sentence) and is serving a life sentence for murder. The father who pled innocent was jailed and then released several years later.
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| October 1, 2006 | Panel Finds Fault with Florida Autopsies |
| | The Florida Medical Examiners Commission has recommend that Dr. Charles Siebert be placed on supervised probation for the next 10 months because of a disputed autopsy he performed on a teenager who died at a boot camp for juvenile offenders. He ruled that the death was from sickle cell anemia, but a video tape of camp guards kicking and punching him made it clear that this was very far from the truth.
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| September 20, 2006 | Ashland Daily Tidings Incorrectly Diagnoses Me with AIDS |
| | Dear Sirs, It appears that someone at the Ashland Daily Tidings had trouble sticking with the facts in the rerun of a story about me taken from a report in the LA Times. Your publication’s headline erroneously describes me as a “mother with AIDS” when in fact, I have never been diagnosed with AIDS. I enjoy normal health despite having tested HIV positive 14 years ago and taking no AIDS medications. The headline also incorrectly states that “LA County dropped charges of criminal neglect” against me when in fact, no charges were ever filed. It’s hard to imagine that the interests of readers are served by news headlines that contradict or editorialize about facts contained in an article. I look forward to seeing the damaging remarks made about me corrected. With appreciation, Christine Maggiore
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| September 18, 2006 | LA Times Reporter Charles Ornstein talks to Christine Maggiore |
| | LA Times reporter Charles Ornstein phoned Christine Maggiore to obtain information for an article following the announcement by the LA County Coroner that they were closing their file on the death of Eliza Jane Scovill. The interview is available in Windows Media format and as an MP3. Both are about 8 MB in size.
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| September 17, 2006 | …I admire the way that your family has fought for the truth, and for your rights as parents, even in the tragic loss of your daughter… |
| | My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family on the loss of your gorgeous daughter. I have been following your story, the Los Angeles Times’ badly biased version of it, and the blogosphere’s truly insensitive comments regarding your daughter’s death. I have noticed that many bloggers are acting on false information, such as the “fact” that Christine is HIV+, when it has been said, over and over, that her tests have been negative, inconclusive, and positive. And yet, this misinformation, along with much other misinformation, has been used to vilify you and instill fear into parents everywhere. After all, if parents cannot make informed decisions about the care of the children that they bring into the world, then we are truly living in Plato’s or Skinner’s world, a world in which parents give their children over to the state at birth. I admire the way that your family has fought for the truth, and for your rights as parents, even in the tragic loss of your daughter. Your words have made me think, something that those who condemn you seem incapable of. I can only imagine that it's horrible enough to lose a child, but to have people say such terrible things about you as parents? It’s chilling indeed to think that such truly mean and closed-minded people, of all political stripes, walk the earth each day. My own personal saturation point was reached today, when my husband pointed out the article in which you were “allowed” to keep your son (how thoughtful of the government and media, being that they’ve put you in such utter contempt during your mourning) but that Dr. Paul Fleiss is now being charged with “gross negligence.” One of the reasons that we chose Dr. Fleiss when I was pregnant with our first child is because he has this novel idea of allowing parents to decide what's best for their children. Well, evidently this idea must go, at least according to the Medical Board of California. I’m quite disappointed in Dr. Jay Gordon’s wimping out, or seeming to anyway – perhaps the Times misquoted him, but I am quite proud of Dr. Fleiss for standing up for what he believes – in trusting parents to make the best decisions for their children. Apparently, he’s becoming a dinosaur in that respect. You know, of course, how wonderful it is to have Dr. Fleiss as a pediatrician. I have found that his loving, caring, and devotion to freedom permeates his office. He has given us such wonderful advice regarding our children. It hurts to know that people who have only read the Los Angeles Times' account and various Internet bloggers are trying to deface such a wonderful, caring doctor. Although I've encountered some fabulous doctors in Los Angeles, he is truly one of the best. His focus is on the child and what is best for the child. He gives gentle advice to parents and allows parents to make their own decisions. Apparently, such freedom of thought and action is a bit too much for those who are conditioned to love the ever-increasing socialism in the U.S. Like you, I am saddened by the charges that Dr. Fleiss faces, but then again, seeing what is happening to Dr. Fleiss, and how media and government have treated you, makes me understand how unpopular and threatening dissenting thought can be. It’s horrible that in the supposedly freest country on earth, one is encouraged in group think and dissenters are condemned. Many thanks to your family, and to Dr. Fleiss, for being the brave souls that you are!
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| September 16, 2006 | L.A. County D.A. Won't Act in Girl's AIDS-Related Death |
| | The Los Angeles County district attorney's office said Friday that it would not file criminal neglect charges against prominent HIV skeptic Christine Maggiore, whose daughter died last year of what the county coroner ruled was AIDS-related pneumonia. But in a separate development, the Medical Board of California filed an accusation this week against one of the 3-year-old girl's doctors, citing gross negligence in his treatment of her…[more]…
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| September 15, 2006 | LA Coroner Ends Investigation |
| | On the anniversary of the release of Eliza Jane’s autopsy report, as I was watering the Bougainvillea plant immortalized in Elle magazine, Charles Ornstein of the LA Times phoned requesting an interview on today’s announcement from the District Attorney's office about charges in the EJ case. My heart began to pound. “What announcement?” I asked, wondering if these would be my last words before squad cars rounded the corner and I was handcuffed and hauled away with the hose still running. Instead, I learned from Ornstein (who always seems to know more about my life than I do) that the District Attorney closed the criminal investigation against me today with no charges filed. After all I've been through, I had only one thought in mind: Get a tape recorder. The conversation I taped with Ornstein will post to the JusticeForEJ.com web site as soon as I can figure out how to do that, so at least one uncensored, unedited, unadulterated version of the facts will exist in the public record. I have no idea what will appear in the LA Times tomorrow, but get the feeling it will focus on what Ornstein told me when he called back an hour later: Dr Paul Fleiss – our honest, brave, and kind hearted pediatrician – has been charged with negligence by the state medical board for his handling of Eliza Jane's non-existent pneumonia. Robin and I are devastated to learn of this horrific new injustice and hope that those of you who know and love Dr Fleiss will join us in supporting him and his courageous support of informed choice. Thank you, Christine |