Families Deserve Due Process and Dignity

It only takes one medical opinion to shatter a family.

In cases of medical misdiagnosis of child abuse, families can be separated without a trial, without a second opinion, and without the opportunity to prove their innocence. A single doctor’s determination can lead to CPS removal, separating a newborn from their mother’s arms and a child from their safe place, the only home they’ve ever known.

These life-altering decisions are often made under the label of medical child abuse, yet parents are left with little recourse, and those responsible are protected with almost complete immunity.

Families deserve transparency. They deserve the truth. And they deserve the chance to be heard before everything is taken from them.

Parents, medical professionals, lawyers, etc., if you’ve experienced a medical misdiagnosis of child abuse, we want to hear from you.

Share Your Story

Innocent families around the world are being devastated by the medical misdiagnosis of child abuse, made by doctors who neglect the latest research and evidence-based medicine.

The Honest Diagnosis Project exists as a movement. The push to improve integrity in child protection and to champion family-centered medicine that prioritizes the well-being of both children AND their families.

We advocate for truth, transparency, and reform in a system that too often harms those it’s meant to protect.

We advocate for the children who are being harmed under the guise of protection.

We Believe

  • Child abuse is real and devastating, and protecting children remains a paramount priority

  • Medical diagnoses should be differential & honest about limits + diagnostic uncertainty

  • Child protection must be rooted in accurate & up-to-date science

  • No family should lose their children based on uncertain or disputed medical conclusions

  • No one should have immunity that shields them from accountability

  • Suspicion does not equal proof

  • Families + science are on the same team. True justice depends on both

A happy family enjoying a moment outdoors in a field with tall grass at sunset. The father is holding their young daughter in the air while she reaches out towards him, and the mother is sitting on the ground smiling and holding a flower.

Why This Matters

Innocent children and families need our help. It can take months or even years to reintegrate a child once removed from their home.

Families without the means to hire a lawyer may never regain custody of their children, even with evidence in their favor.

The Honest Diagnosis Project was created because:

  • This problem is systemic, not rare.

  • Children are being harmed by those who profess to protect them.

  • These cases are treated as certain when they are not.

  • The real issue is not whether child abuse happens; no one is denying it does, but whether current practices reliably distinguish between abuse and non-abusive causes.

  • Once a medical professional makes an abuse diagnosis, it’s rarely questioned and is extremely difficult to undo.

  • The public has not been told how often this happens and how much uncertainty actually exists, especially as it relates to SBS (Shaken Baby Syndrome) and AHT (Abusive Head Trauma).

  • Many amazing organizations are doing the work to help families who find themselves in this nightmare, but there is not one central hub for organizing and movement.

    This is the movement

A family enjoying a day at the beach with a man carrying a smiling baby on his shoulders and a woman laughing nearby.
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June Family Spotlight

Torn Apart by Akron Children’s in Ohio

We moved our daughter from her bassinet to a crib as she was becoming more mobile. It was important to us to follow safe sleep recommendations.

Not long after, she got her arm stuck between the mattress and the crib slats, developing a red mark. I was concerned by how it was forming, so I brought it up to her pediatrician. As a parent, that’s what you’re supposed to do when something doesn’t look right.

We were told they wanted to rule out things like cancer, which terrified us. We took it seriously and did exactly what we were asked to do. When we got to the children’s hospital, everything changed.

The red mark we were concerned about became “bruising.” The reason we had been sent there seemed to change. We were told our daughter had bruises. She didn’t. They even described the dimples on her knees as bruises. Suddenly, the conversation wasn’t about figuring out what was causing the mark on our daughter’s arm. It was about figuring out who had “abused” our daughter.

You could see lines on the arm. Exactly like lines from the slats of a crib.

CPS was called. Police were called. We were questioned about hurting our children. We told everyone the same thing: we have never hurt our children.

There were no fractures. Nothing other than the red mark on her arm. We were told that if we didn’t agree to a safety plan, our children could be removed. So we signed it. We cooperated and believed this would be sorted out. It was a misunderstanding.

We asked to have the Child Abuse Pediatrician see our daughter in person, since he hadn’t yet…and was reporting “ concerns for possible physical abuse “ while never even meeting our daughter. He told us, “If you had better stories, I could have cleared this up with CPS.” But they weren’t stories. We had nothing to hide. What are you supposed to do as a parent if the only thing you have is the truth and they won’t accept it?

We asked CPS and the detective who came to our house what to do since she is so mobile in her sleep. CPS said you cannot use bumpers or mesh because they are dangerous. We understood that. The detective suggested moving our monitor higher. We did that too.

Eventually, that safety plan ended because of a repeat skeletal survey showing no fractures, just like before. We thought we could finally breathe. And then a month later, our daughter woke up from a nap with a limp arm.

I will never forget the panic. We called 911.

We weren’t trying to explain away an injury. We weren’t trying to hide anything. We were terrified and wanted help for our daughter, even after everything we had just been through.

The first hospital documented our explanation of how it was told, but they wanted to ask a children’s hospital how to treat her arm. The children’s hospital stated that they had better resources. The children’s hospital immediately accused us of abuse and had NAT in her chart before laying eyes on her.

We explained that we believed her arm had become caught in the crib slats and that she rolled while it was trapped. We had seen her be extremely mobile in her crib before, and we thought medical professionals would want every piece of information. We thought they would want to understand what happened, but instead, it felt like the moment the fracture was discovered, everything else disappeared.

The photographs didn’t matter. The history didn’t matter. The fact that we had raised concerns with doctors before this didn’t matter. And the fact that we had called 911 ourselves didn’t matter.

Throughout this process, things I had reported myself as a concerned parent were later cited as evidence used against me. I never imagined that being the parent who asked questions, uploaded photos, sought medical care, and pushed for answers would one day be accused of child abuse.

The same child abuse pediatrician who accused us the first time wouldn’t look at the photos we had showing the lining from the crib. We were treated like criminals by everyone, and within days, our children were gone.

Our four-year-old son was separated from his home, his sister, and everything he had ever known. Our five-month-old daughter was separated from the only people she had ever lived with. And just like that, we went from being parents seeking help for their injured child to parents fighting to save our family.

Today is Day 56 of this nightmare.

For 56 days, I have missed bedtime routines, morning cuddles, hugs, laughter, milestones, and all of the little moments that make a family a family. I miss my son asking for one more hug. I miss my daughter’s smile. I miss hearing little feet running down the hallway every day. I miss waking up to my babies. More than anything, I miss my children, and I wake up every single morning wishing I could go back to when I had my family.

If you would like to help this family fight for their children, please consider donating here. 100% of all donations go directly to our monthly family spotlight. Every cent raised in June will go to this family in need.

Please Send Hope