PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE TAKE A MINUTE TO SIGN THIS PETITION!!!

[Beenleigh]

You may have heard the story of Fran Lyon. If not, then this is a simplified version.

Fran is currently 31 weeks pregnant with her first baby
When Fran was sixteen years old, she was the victim of a serious sexual assault, and as a result, she suffered from mental health issues. She received therapy for two years, one year as an inpatient, and less than one following her discharge. She has not received or needed any mental health therapy since that time, and the psychiatrist that treated her has explicitly stated that she has no concerns whatsoever for Fran's mental health.

Unfortunately, early on in Fran?s pregnancy, there was a difficult situation with her (then) partner, and Fran called the police. Due to the nature of the problem and combined with the fact that Fran was pregnant, the police referred the case to social services. Fran was completely honest and open about her past mental health issues, and clear that she no longer suffered from any such problems. However, a ball had started rolling out of control, and a paediatrician, who has never actually met or spoken to Fran, has inexplicably suggested that she may in due course suffer from Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy. This has resulted in social services deciding that upon her birth, Fran?s baby daughter, Molly, will be taken away from her.

It is abundantly clear that Fran Lyon will be absolutely no danger to her baby, but we suggest that at the very least, Fran should at be allowed to stay in an assessment unit with her baby, Molly, pending an inevitable decision that she is capable of caring for her daughter independently.

Please take a few minutes to watch this clip of Fran being interviewed on This Morning: uk.youtube.com/watch?v=2qHcH_Eaocg

Please please sign the petition here: www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/539543596

Also, please could you copy and paste this post and send it as an email to as many people as possible, obviously feeling free to correct my crappy spelling and grammar!

Many Thanks

Ok folks we've got at lease 3 on-going threads now & it's making my head swim if no-one else's!!

How about we keep this as the petition/info thread,let the SW one drop so they don't feel got at (I'm feeling christian ) & use the third one as a discussion thread as we're having a good old ding-dong & it would be a shame to le it drop as Fran has posted some interesting stuff on it.

What d'you think?

lease = least sorry!

I'm the friend of Fran's who set up the facebook site and I have posted on here already in support of Fran. I am not sure who the person was who posted on the BBC website, but I have a fairly good idea and it would definitely be in their own interests for people to believe this rubbish.

I have personally been with Fran and taken her to hospital on several occassions and there is no way she was faking. I think conclusive clinical tests are pretty strong evidence, as well as various different, independent doctors opinions. Sadly if you have a previously diagnosed mental health problem it can be very difficult to convince people you have a serious physical problem. I had a very frightening experience earlier this year where I was turned away by four different GPs and my flatmate was told on the phone I was having a panic attack although she said I was turning blue. I do have various mental health diagnoses, but on this occasion I actually had a massive blood clot on my lung which could have killed me. It was the people who knew me best - my flatmates and friends - who could see there was something seriously wrong with me when medical professionals were insistent there wasn't.

I just wanted to make it clear that Fran has a lot of friends who are supporting her and also that if the author of the BBC comment is to be believes Fran was able to work for a nationwide charity, including work with Department of Health while people around her were aware she was "a skilled manipulator and fantasist" - does this sound likely to anyone?

I have posted the contact info of people to write letters to on the facebook site and word certainly seems to be getting out - there have been about 60 new members since yesterday.

Doricgirl thanks for posting!

Don't worry that was just a one-off stirrer,I think, we are all still rooting for Fran & yes the ripples of the stone in the pond that Beeny launched are gently spreading far & wide.

565 votes!

Our best to Fran I know she has had her down moments (lordy, those of us who have been pregnant WITHOUT her extra hassles can identify with that!) but it's good to know she has so many RL friends looking out for her too.

To comment on your post- yes it's easy for someone who has MH problems/history to be poorly treated physically sometimes once they are "labelled"

Must admit the rubbish with the breastfeeding is almost swaying me to sign that petition.I really can't see how it would work, that someone would poison themselfs enough (without dying there and then) for it to cross over into the breastmilk in a sort of amount that then would have a negative effect on the Baby.....hmmmmm.....almost feels, in this instance, that SS is reading to much Science Fiction.....if it wasn't so sad it would be funny!

Ruty, in an earlier reply to me you mentioned something about WHY SS isn't disclosing the vital info that may would sway all our opinions....now, I agree, it's something I don't get, however, on the other hand I find it difficult to comprehend that they would go to such lenght for no reason, iykwim....

It's sad that Fran felt the need to move, especially as it was down to the treatment/Birthplan from SS up there. All I hope is that this will turn out well in the end, and I will keep follwing the discussion.

It's not SS who aren't disclosing that information, Fran does not want to because it is not just about her and she does not think it fair on the other person/people involved to bring them into all of this (or something along those lines)

Bump

Message withdrawn

3andnomore - I have no idea whether Fran should or should not be allowed to keep her baby but I signed the petition because social services' stated that the reason the baby would be taken from her at birth was that she was likely to suffer from MSbP and because this seems to be based on a vague line in a letter from a paediatrician who had not even met Fran.

Combined with the potential poisoning of breast milk the whole thing reeks of hysteria. It is frightening for any woman who is, or hopes to be, a mother - the idea that a child can be taken away on such tenuous grounds.

If there is more to the FL case, and social services do have good reason for concern, why did they say it was about MSbP?

Yes Miilie anoher story I have been following & John H is watching. Apparently the poor lad confided in his grandmoher & step-grandfather that he was being abused in care & when they tried to intervene & speak for him they were banned from contacting him!

some details

Obviously we don't know all the details but it was a bit OTT to jail them IMHO given their age & the state of prison overcrowding etc

it is wrong to attack kismo for raising that post. I don't know Fran but I do know people who can fool most of those around them and for all I know she could be one of them. Those concerns need to be replied to and not by attacking anyone worried by what has been said.

Ultimately if Fran wants massive public support she may have to choose between the other person she wishes to protect and her child.

I've still signed the petition for the following reasons

1. denying a mother the right to breastfeed is ridiculous. There is a psychiatric opinion that she will not harm her child. We all know that whatever a mother feels for her child before birth few would harm them afterwards because the hormonal rush makes you protective.

1. a child has a right to grow up with their mother unless there is a very compelling case to take that child away. Fran has agreed to publicity so social services can make that case public if they have one.

1. Fran hasn't asked to go straight home with the child but to be assessed with her.

1. a petition like this actually carries very little weight. The cards are all stacked against the mother so what little weight is provides may be crucial.

Btw, the BBC post refers to the Community Care article slamming Fran as 'balanced'. I am a journalist and have been writing for magazines in the same area (and sister publications of Comm Care) for over a decade now. The article is very, very far from balanced. It is a shrill, knee-jerk attack, attempting to silence any criticism.

I've seen the same sort of thing before when a profession is criticised. In one case at my own old mag, a sister title of Comm Care, the reporter took her name off the story when she saw what the editor had done to it and every journalist on the team protested. I've no idea if the same happened at Comm Care, but I bloody hope so.

i'd be interested to know what a woman can do to prove her innocence when she is labelled 'manipulative' and able to 'fool everyone around her' How do you counter that claim? Pretty nigh impossible.

And you don't seem to need evidence to accuse of that either.

Btw, re the criticism of Fran for being treated in hospital and knowing a bit about medicine - you could say the same of me. I have epilepsy and had to be admitted a few times during pregnancy (blood volume grows so drugs aren't as effective). I also know a bit about medical science through my job.

Thank heavens I didn't bump into any SWs during my pregnancy, huh?

Tatt- I think we're all aware petitions don't do a lot really- I don't usually bother with them myself for that reason!

But in this case it has given those of us who feel powerless a chance to voice our concerns. it has also helped to spread the information and bring it to the attention of a wider audience than before. This wll hopefully have some impact for both Fran AND the wider issue of the secrecy in Family Courts. From the posts I have read in reply to these threads there are many people who have no idea of these cases & situations & they are concerned as well.

Bump for the evening crowd.

639 votes!!

This was posted on the petition - does anyone understand it?? Don't know if it would be useful if I can make sense of it...

Thanks

Nov 13, 2007, PJ Stewart , California
I suggest you start doing something besides setting on you're apathy! Signing a petition does nothing, reseach.. FBI search 14141 You'll find what they are doing is TITLE 18 > PART I > CHAPTER 50A > § 1091 Genocide (6) transfers by force children of the group to another group; or attempts to do so, shall be punished as provided in subsection Fight fire with fire, not lip service!

sounds a bit loony to me...

Yeah that's what I thought - I think what's being referred to is to do with removing large numbers of children to a different type of society... not really relevant...

Signed. I read about this and couldn't believe how someone can take the decision to remove a baby at birth, unless there is a very strong precedent of child abuse in the case, which doesn't apply here as Molly's her first baby. It is inhuman and immoral. How dare they

Fran has responded to the comments - calmly, sensibly and with less heat than her supporters.

The American comment obvioulsy wouldn't apply here, even if it made sense.

Actually, I don't think I ever worked out where this petition is and where it is going... I mean it's on some petition site that appears to be American - shouldn't we be making sure it gets to Downing Street, or all our MPs, or something?

I think it's more to raise awareness Edam...it's registered in the UK. There is a Downing Street one but it's quite strongly worded so Beeny just thought a more measured approach was called for I think!

Over 660 votes cast!