Columnist Sandra Thompson: Doctor authors Child’s Bill of Rights

Sandra Thompson

Sunday, April 9, 2000 | 10:45 a.m.

As a child neurologist and former psychiatrist, Dr. William Torch has seen many patients suffering from the effects of abuse and neglect.

Having treated his share of children with fetal drug and alcohol syndrome, the Reno physician started thinking, "What rights do they have?"

"Anyone who's a minor -- their rights pale under the rights of adults," Torch says. "We treat children like chattel, property to be owned."

Only two countries -- the United States and Somolia -- have refused to vote for a United Nations resolution on children's rights. That's because Americans, Torch says, see it as intruding on the rights of a democracy and on the rights of parents.

So what's wrong with a policy that advocates children are entitled to the same rights as adults?

"America's attitude toward children is 'children don't count,' " Torch says.

He has been trying to change that since 1993, when he authored a Child's Bill of Rights.

The underlying goal is to "eliminate the seeds of children's maltreatment, which, when sown, result in lifelong harvests of violence, criminality, addiction, recurring cycles of neglect and abuse, and progressive disintegration of our society."

The preamble states that parents "have the responsibility and privilege to provide, protect and care for them (children), earn their trust, elevate their spirit and raise our voice on their behalf."

Among the "facts" listed in the Child's Bill of Rights are:

The bill of rights addresses other issues such as the lack of adequate health care and education, and exposure to weapons, drugs and violence.

After contacted by Torch, Assemblywoman Vivian Freeman, D-Reno, tried to draft a bill in the 1995 Legislature that would address the rights of children. However, there was concern among conservative legislators that it would lead to undesired actions, such as allowing children to sue their parents.

"That was a political year," Freeman says. "Everyone was talking about family values."

Since the resolution didn't specifically mention families, it didn't gain widespread support and died in the state Senate.

Freeman says legislators now are focusing on what should be done for children in poverty in more specific areas, such as health care, housing and child care.

Torch is turning his Child's Bill of Rights into a book. Parts of it already have been published by the Northern Nevada Child Abuse Task Force.

Although April has been proclaimed Child Abuse Prevention Month, Torch has devoted every month -- and every day -- to shedding light on this serious issue.

Sadly, as he states at the end of his Child's Bill of Rights, repeated petitions on behalf of children "have been answered only by repeated injury."