The transcript for this witness testimony is currently in production by our volunteers. It will be available soon here on this page and as a downloadable PDF.

Summary

Barbora Klima-Bratova testifies about her family’s harrowing experience with ‘medical kidnapping’ after her premature twin babies were wrongfully apprehended by child protective services in Ontario in 2017. When her 8-week-old son suddenly collapsed, doctors misdiagnosed his medical conditions as signs of abuse, leading to the twins being taken from their parents. Klima-Bratova explains how child abuse pediatricians can make determinations of abuse before properly ruling out medical conditions that mimic abuse. She describes the difficulty of fighting these accusations once made and regaining custody. Her husband faced criminal charges for 3 years before being acquitted. Klima-Bratova advocates for mandatory second medical opinions before children are apprehended in suspected abuse cases. She founded a nonprofit organization to support other families and push for reforms. The testimony highlights issues with how hospitals and child protection agencies handle these cases and the devastating impact on families when sick children are misdiagnosed as abuse victims.

Credentials

Barbora Klima-Bratova is originally from the Czech Republic and moved to Ontario, Canada with her family in 2015 for her husband’s work. They had three children – an older son born in 2013 and premature twins born in 2017. Klima-Bratova’s experience with the wrongful apprehension of her children due to misdiagnosed medical conditions led her to become an advocate for families in similar situations. She founded the Stop Medical Kidnappings Advocacy Association to push for reforms in how suspected child abuse cases are handled medically and legally. Klima-Bratova is passionate about preventing other families from experiencing the trauma her family endured and works to educate others about the issue of medical kidnapping.