The birth of a child should be a moment of joy, but for a Polish couple it was the beginning of a nightmare.
Katarzyna S. (27) and her husband Michal welcomed their baby girl Liliana into this world on Sept 14 and, as is standard procedure in most hospitals, the newborn was swiftly whisked away to be cleaned, vaccinated against tuberculosis and given a shot of vitamin K. The parents protested against these procedures, stressing the fact that they had not consented to any of them. The doctors responded by going to court and immediately securing the limitation of parental rights. The court decided to appoint a curator who would oversee the medical procedures the baby would be subjected to. According to the Polish immunization program, a HepB shot is also given at birth which would explain why the doctors went to court.
Katarzyna and Michal took advantage of a moment they were unsupervised and fled the hospital in Bialogard (northwestern Poland) with their baby girl.
Polish authorities launched a vast hunt operation with cars being stopped and searched in the area around Bialogard. They ordered the couple to come back to the hospital and made a public plea for help in locating the fugitives.
In the following days, a video surfaced on YouTube showing Michal and the baby girl. The father explained that they acted with their daughter's best interests in mind and assured that they were 'somewhere safe', possibly abroad.
"We have been punished and forced into fleeing and hiding, turned into outcasts", Michal is heard saying.
Parents in Bialogard rally in support of the fugitives
The public outcry forced the Justice minister Patryk Jaki to admit the parents might have had a point. He also said the court in Bialograd acted hastily and in a scandalous manner, adding that children are not “property of the state”.
A few days later, the first ruling against the parents was overturned. Full parental rights were reinstated and it was announced they have no more reasons to hide. For the time being, the family's whereabouts remain unknown.