By Ron Unruh

COMMENT

ZABETH BAYNE was a concert pianist.

Soon she would lose her piano.

She and her husband Paul would lose their home, in payment of legal expenses.

These expenses were incurred as they sought to reverse their greatest misfortune: the loss of their children.

I met Paul and Zabeth in 2000, when they attended the Cloverdale church I was pastoring.

I did pre-marital counselling with them, and officiated at their wedding ceremony.

I found them to be serious, conservative, spiritually keen Christians, whom I was glad to know. When I relocated in 2001 we lost touch with one another.

In autumn 2009, I learned about their story of sadness and loss. Believing they were telling the truth, I began to advocate for them with a daily blog called GPS.

The Baynes enjoyed an almost idyllic life with three children and a new home, in a quiet area of Hope – until autumn 2007, when it all came apart.

Paul and Zabeth are birth parents of three children, who have not lived with them for two and a half years. The Baynes had two sons, and then their daughter was born.

An in-home accident on September 23, 2007 is the only trauma to which the parents can point when assessing the cause for the injuries and health issues that compelled them to take their daughter for medical intervention.

As the seven week old infant lay on a blanket on the floor, one small sibling tumbled on top of her. Initially, the baby experienced no apparent distress. Within hours, she was vomiting, dehydrated, listless and not feeding.

Urgent but inconclusive visits to clinics and hospitals in Hope and Abbotsford led to the Vancouver Children’s Hospital on  September 26.

While the incident happened to the youngest child, all three children were apprehended by the Ministry of Children and Family Development (MCFD) and RCMP October 22 – on the strength of a report from the Hospital’s Child Protection Unit and a diagnosis of Shaken Baby Syndrome (SBS).

At that moment, the MCFD action was standard and appropriate procedure. The RCMP arrested both parents; following a brief investigation, the Baynes were released. RCMP concluded there was insufficient evidence to pursue charges of complicity in harming the child.

Continue article >>

The Ministry, however, viewed the parents with suspicion – basing its position on one doctor’s diagnosis. This diagnosis has been disputed by 12 other experts.

Paul and Zabeth have asserted their innocence from the start, and have accordingly been deemed as uncooperative. Without further evidence – yet still convinced that the parents pose a risk ­– the MCFD has placed the children in foster care.

The Baynes have been less than passive in contesting for custody. They have written letters to the Premier, the Minister of MCFD, the Ombudsman, MLAs and the media –   explaining their dilemma and inviting help.

Hundreds of acquaintances and family members have also sent letters of confidence and support for the Baynes to the MCFD in Victoria, and the Fraser Regional offices.

Global TV and CBC (both regional and national) ran stories in 2009.

A support network has held several quiet, placard-holding demonstrations outside Premier Campbell’s Vancouver office.

The Baynes have conducted extensive research, obtaining medical opinions that dispute SBS – and that present alternative diagnoses. Noted  legal counsel Doug Christie, has made himself available to defend them.

Judge Thomas James Crabtree, newly appointed Chief Justice of B.C., recently ordered MCFD to give the Baynes extended visitation opportunities with their children.  

The conclusion of their court hearing is scheduled for August 9 – 13. There is every hope that Judge Crabtree  will return their children to them.

That is not what the Ministry of Children and Family Development want.

The director of the Fraser Region of MCFD has applied for a Continuing Care Order – which, if granted, would mean the children could be placed with adoptive parents.

It could also mean that Paul and Zabeth Bayne might never see their children again.

Dr. Ron Unruh is a retired pastor and denominational executive, now expressing himself as a visual artist and an author. His blog for the Baynes can be found at this online address: ronunruhGPS.blogspot.com

July 2010