RE: Munchausen's syndrome by proxy

["John Devaney" <j.devaney@xxxxxxxxx>]

List members may be interested to know that Munchausen's Syndrome by Proxy
(also known as Fabricated and Induced Illness) has hit the headlines in the
United Kingdom recently due to a series of legal cases where mothers, who
have been accused of killing their children, have subsequently had their
sentences/disposals quashed due to concerns about the veracity of the
expert medical opinions in the cases. For some background see the following
news articles:

http://society.guardian.co.uk/children/story/0,1074,1137871,00.html

http://www.communitycare.co.uk/articles/article.asp?liarticleid=43639&liSect
ionID=22&sKeys=sir+roy+meadow&liParentID=26

A further consequence is that a number of cases (as yet undefined)
involving the removal into state care of children on the basis on MSBP are
also to be reviewed:

http://society.guardian.co.uk/children/story/0,1074,1154545,00.html


The existence of MSBP is now being questioned and there is a real danger
that genuine cases of concern may be ignored as public and political
opinion becomes more sceptical.

Has the recent publicity surrounding this issue in the UK reached other
countries?

John Devaney
Queen's University Belfast
Northern Ireland