Hey everyone, and welcome to this week’s episode. As always, Acuity is best savored over an indulgent and stimulating caffeinated drink. So grab your favorite fix — a steaming cup of coffee, a refreshing diet coke, a soothing tea, or prepare to get sweaty with a pre-workout and
Let’s. Get. Started.
On the agenda this week we’ll be discussing:
Political advocacy, what I’m up to from legal cases against the Canadian Federal Government and the Nova Scotia Provincial government, before I do a deeper dive on birth injuries.
To begin, I want to talk a little about my politics. The left and right divide doesn’t seem to fit any more. I prefer to think about the political spectrum as a spectrum of big government involvement to no government involvement. There are some issues in which a larger role from government makes sense, in essence a socialist model for managing a problem and some in which a much more libertarian perspective makes sense, and everything in between. The level of government also makes a difference, where federal response might make more or less sense than municipal.
I don’t want to suggest that I am some briliant political scientist or economist. Instead, I want to highlight some of the perspectives on this subject from my favorite academics, that I have found the most persuasive.
Firstly, John Locke. He was an incredible political philosopher who was a major inspiration to the American ideas of governance. He wrote his Second Treatise in the late 17th century. He famously discusses Natural Rights and the role of government in society, that is to say that citizens sacrifice some autonomy through a social contract to an accountable government operating with checks and balances, whose responsibility is the protection and promotion of Life, Liberty and Property. Those are natural they belong to us as human beings.
Next up, is John Stuart Mill, one of the greatest political minds of all time – whose essay “On Liberty” from 1859 is just an incredible read. I read it at least once a year. He argues brilliantly from a utilitarian perspective about the government’s role being limited to only preventing harm between people in society, with limited intervention in some arenas, like education, to make sure people have the opportunity to realize their own individual potential, with the smallest government presence necessary where it’s involved at all. He did not do this from a deontological position, that is like John Locke; but from a net value in society of flourishing.
Finally, moving into the modern era, Milton Fridman. You can still watch many of his lectures online in YouTube and he has an incredibly charming way of lecturing, let alone that the substance of his lectures has earned him a place in history. A profound economist, he examined how and where government intervention has succeeded. Unsurprsingly, almost nowhere. Almost everywhere government intercedes outcomes worsen. He highlights that the government should protect against coercion, through the enforcement of contracts, national defense and law and order, so that free markets with rational actors – even greedy ones! – can be left to flourish independently. He predicted the potential for massive oligarchs but felt that this was always more preferable than the tyranny of governments. His book “Capitalism and Freedom” is very readible, enjoyable and compelling.
I have to give a special shoutout to Thomas Sowell, another brilliant still living economist who advanced the same perspective as Milton Fridman. There are many lectures and interviews online of Thomas Sowell, but his book, which I warn is very dense, “Intellectuals and Society” is a masterwork in undermining modern Technocracies, where elitist experts are held as paragons of societal stewadship; instead he describes the history of central planning failures, how things like the WHO, the UN, the EU, the WEF, with other international institutions are detrimental to the flourishing of society.
That brings me to my politics. The individual matters tremendously, more specifically the family-unit. Large-scale collective decision making is far too often harmful to society outside of very specific situations – such as the military, policing, a judiciary for contract dispute and a clean environment (not the hysteria of the green revolution and climate-hysteria). Things like: agriculture, commerce, education, energy, housing and urban development, labor, transportation, and even most of healthcare – all should not be under government oversight.
So, what am I doing about it? I want to give you some insight to my non-profit, the Nova Scotia Civil Liberties Association, where we advance individual’s civil liberties. We do advoacy work for people against their employers and against the government where we see intrusions against what people should have the sole control over, most notably free speech and medical autonomy, such as vaccine mandates.
The Nova Scotia Civil Liberties Association is currently in action against the Province of Nova Scotia for new legislation permitting the Minister of Health from looking at individual’s medical records. We are in early days of the action, but the theory goes that the government should not have the prerogative to invade an individuals medical file because it does not have any relevance but instead poses a large risk to tyranny. Imagine I applied to become the head of a government service, for example a hospital. The Minister of Health has a quick look at my medical record, sees my vaccination history, or my psychiatric history, or my sexual history and deems me inappropriate…that is a scandalous possibility. Note that, even though I would identify most strongly with a conservative politic, this action is being taken against a conservative government. There is no monopoly on the threat of tyranny from the left, nor the right and defending against the encroachment of government, an ever growing institution that never relinquishes powers, in favor of the individual is forever a battle to be fought.
Speaking of ever growing government and their authority, I want to harken back to the ‘checks and balances’ that we expect. I am currently an applicant in a lawsuit against the Trudeau government for proroguing government unnecessarily for partisan purposes. Shutting down parliament where government is held accountable by an opposition, with rules of transparency, should only happen under the strictest conditions. Given the multiple international conflicts that Canada is participating in, and the tariff war with the US, this is a critical time for a functioning parliament. Hiding behind prorogation is avoiding the checks and balances that our constitution has laid out, that has helped Canada become the great country it is.
To wrap this up, there are always battles to fight in the preservation of our individual liberties; and those liberties matter not only because they are absolute principles of morality, but also because they are the predicate for societal flourishing – free markets with independent actors seeking their own best interests has been the greatest force for human flourishing; wherever we see tyrannies forming and denying these rights such as Maoist China, Stallinist Russia, Castro’s Cuba, we see suffering. But we need not look at such huge examples. Public healthcare in Canada is collapsing, subsidized universities bloat and their education standards collapse, dairy prices in Canada are inflated by protectionism, central city planning leads to disastrous housing prices. The evidence of failures of elitist central planners are abundant, you need only look around.
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Next up, we explore a subject that touches the heart of many families: birth injuries. As both a physician and an attorney, my mission is to educate on the complexities of pregnancy, labor and delivery, focusing on devastating outcomes like Cerebral Palsy, Developmental delays, and seizure disorders, often due to hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy or more simply, oxygen deprived brain damage. I’ll also highlight where medical errors can occur, potentially leading to malpractice cases.
Birth injuries are not just medical events; they’re life-altering for newborns and their families. These brain injuries occur when there’s a significant reduction in oxygen or blood flow to the brain, typically during the labor process. This oxygen deprivation leads to neuronal death, potentially causing cerebral palsy like permanent movement disorders, affecting motor control and coordination; cognitive issues such as developmental delays and the failure to reach milestones, or seizure disorders resulting from damage to areas of the brain responsible for regulating electrical activity, leading to debilitating forms of epilepsy.
Let’s delve into the phyisology of labor. The process is a dance of contractions, cervical dilation, and fetal descent. However, complications like prolonged labor, placental abruption, or umbilical cord issues can reduce oxygen supply to the fetus. This results in ischemia and brain cell death.
Before we get to actual labor, it’s worth talking about proper prenatal care. Prenatal care is an essential journey that begins with the confirmation of pregnancy and extends through to delivery. This involves comprehensive maternal health checks and ultrasound surveillance to identify risk factors, and medical conditions early. Failure to identify and manage risk factors, such as gestational diabetes, placental insufficiency, risk of medications and substances, or uncontrolled hypertension and preeclampsia, can lead to adverse outcomes. An attorney would look into whether there was negligence in identification, monitoring or treatment of those various conditions.
Next, labor and delivery. Labor and delivery mark the climax of the prenatal journey, where the focus shifts active management of childbirth. This process typically begins with the onset of labor, characterized by regular uterine contractions, cervical dilation and effacement, leading to the descent of the fetus through the birth canal. During this time, healthcare providers assess the progress through examinations, the monitoring of fetal heart rate, strength and timing of contractions and maternal vital signs to ensure both mother and baby are coping well. Pain management options, like epidurals, are discussed, and interventions like induction or assistance with labor progression with oxytocin could be used. The goal might be a vaginal delivery, but the situation can change very quickly, requiring adaptability in strategies, for example:
Vacuum and Forceps Delivery: If used improperly, they can cause direct trauma, like skull fractures or nerve injuries. An attorney would assess if there was justification and if the procedure was executed with due care. Episiotomy: Improper or unnecessary episiotomies can lead to significant maternal injury or neonatal trauma. Shoulder Dystocia: Requires rapid, correct maneuvers like McRoberts or suprapubic pressure. Mishandling can result in brachial plexus injuries or prolonged asphyxia and those brain injuries we already mentioned. And of course, the decision to move to c-sections: delays in deciding or executing an emergency cesarean section when fetal distress is evident can be catastrophic. An attorney would scrutinize the decision-making process and speed of action.
It’s worthwhile taking a moment to highlight fetal heart monitoring and fetal distress. These long, complicated rhythm strips can indicate abnormal heart rate patterns, which signals the need for intervention, and consideration of c-section to prevent hypoxic injuries. How fast is the baby’s heart rate? How variable? Does it accelerate or decelerate releative contractions? What ist the frequency of those events? Errors here include not acting timely on signs of distress, misinterpreting data, or not employing adequate monitoring methods. Legal cases often focus on response times and the accuracy of interpretation. And even knowing what’s going on, physicians and their teams still have to adhere to proper consent, necessitating both effective communication and rapid intervention to ensure a safe outcome for both mother and child.
The impact of birth injuries on a child’s life are profound, often requiring lifelong care. There are no shortcuts in obstetrics; every step from prenatal care to delivery needs meticulous attention. As both a physician and an attorney, my role is not only to heal but also to ensure that the practice of medicine adheres to the proper standards of care, safeguarding patient outcomes and advancing trust in our medical system. If you have concerns, visit my website at Acuity Medical Law . com and thanks for tuning in.