Childhood Obesity = Child Abuse?
August 8th, 2009
A South Carolina mother named Jerri Gray was recently arrested and charged with criminal neglect when her son reached 555 pounds at 14 years old.
I generally tend to agree with Ron Jones, who is quoted in the story as saying, “If you gave your child a drug, you’d be held in the court. But if you kill them with food, that seems to be acceptable.” However, I would like to know the person’s income level before I jump fully on board with the prosecution.
Obesity statistics fall largely along economic lines. Poor people tend to be heavier because they can only afford to eat processed garbage. If the government would stop subsidizing junk food, it would help to stop this problem, but that is going to take time.
It also strikes me that this woman is an African American living in South Carolina. I’m curious to know if they would ever think to arrest a white woman in their town for the same alleged crime.
So, while it’s certainly time to get people to take responsibility for what they feed their children, it seems to me that this will create a precedent that could bring further injustice to the poor.
Here is the USA Today story, what are your thoughts?
Tags: Target: Children
Posted in
Legislation, Public Policy |
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