Persecuted for Homeschooling, Swedish Family Loses Child

If I were Elin Nordegren Woods, I might not be in such a hurry to take my children to Sweden. Would you believe a Swedish family lost their seven-year-old child because they chose to homeschool him? Unfortunately, it is true as Christer and Annie Johansson, Christian homeschooling parents, are losing custody of their only child, seven-year-old Dominic Johansson, simply because they homeschool him.

According to the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA), Swedish authorities boarded a plane the family was taking to Annie Johansson's homeland of India in June of 2009 and took the boy from his parents. Authorities allegedly did not have a warrant nor did they charge the Johanssons with anything. Apparently the government's only grievances involved vaccinations and the fact the Swedish government does not believe homeschooling is the proper way to raise children. Because - obviously - the government can do a MUCH better job raising a child than the parents, the Swedish government decided the government should raise little Dominic Johansson. It gets worse.

On December 17th, a Swedish court ruled that social services was right to remove the boy. The court said the fact that Dominic had not been vaccinated was a valid reason to remove him permanently from his parents and claimed (contrary to the majority of studies) that homeschoolers do not perform well academically and socially. The Johanssons have, of course, been allowed to visit their son -- for a generous two hours each week, but Swedish social services just cut that back to one hour every fifth week and no visit at all for Christmas. Why? Because the social workers will be on vacation. We wouldn't want to inconvenience the Swedish government and their social workers over the holidays, now would we?

Because of the heavy-handed actions taken by Swedish authorities, two organizations - the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) and HSLDA - are making themselves available as legal advisors to the Johanssons to try to help restore Dominic to his family.

"The Swedish government is exercising its authority under the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child to unnecessarily break up this family," states HSLDA attorney Mike Donnelly. "The Swedish Parliament is reviewing an essential ban on homeschooling. We have heard that other homeschooling families in Sweden are having more difficulty with local officials. We fear that all homeschooling families in Sweden are at risk in what could be the beginning of a widespread persecution."

"Parents have the right and authority to make decisions regarding their children's education without government interference," said ADF Legal Counsel Roger Kiska. "This is about a socialist government trying to create a cookie-cutter child in its own image."

Source:

Swedish Family Persecuted for Homeschooling

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