Thanks Jane Reynolds for sharing this: This story makes me very, very sad. Sad for the loss this family has experienced and sad for the way their story has been twisted and sensationalised by the media. I will not be watching this tonight, but if you decide to, please read this letter written by the grieving mother and remember to keep an open mind. Dear Lisa Ryan, We refer to recent discussions with you where we, Annie Bourgault and Janet Fraser, have individually and severally withdrawn our consent to be broadcast on Channel Seven’s Sunday Night program. Our Agreement with Channel Seven It was our understanding, prior to the commencement of any inquiry into our personal and private lives, and the personal and private lives of our children, that we would be given the opportunity to review, and offer editorial input in relation to, the final script before you made the decision to broadcast. It was also our understanding that you were doing a story on the human rights issues underpinning childbirth, and the growing significance of such issues both here and internationally. These are legal issues, requiring analysis and detailed consideration by legal experts. As you well know, this agreement is of serious importance to us because of the potential to compromise the safety and privacy of our children, and because of the prejudice it may cause in relation to the coronial inquest that is due to be conducted in relation to the death of one of our infants at birth. Our consent to be interviewed, given on behalf of us, and our children, was contingent on such an agreement. Channel 7, through Rebecca Letourneau and subsequently you, confirmed our understanding in writing on several separate occasions with each of us. In return, we and our respective families dedicated a considerable amount of time and resources to providing you with information, giving interviews and sharing materials. We were honest and straightforward in our discussions. We maintained contact with you by email and via telephone. Channel Seven breaches Agreement You are now claiming that you cannot allow us to review the final script. You have also informed us that your story consists only of the views of three grieving families, set against the competing views of an obstetrician who categorically rejects the practice of birthing at home. You have told us that you do not intend to contact or interview any legal professionals for your story or to speak to an expert on human rights in childbirth. We understand you have recently, following the withdrawal of our consent, contacted a midwife who declined to be interviewed because of concerns with bias in your reporting. You have breached your agreement with each of us. By agreeing to run a balanced report on human rights in childbirth and in offering the right to review the final script, you have engaged in misleading and deceptive conduct within the meaning of section 18 of the Australian Consumer Law (ACL) by subsequently failing to honour that Agreement. Such conduct is actionable by us in the event of any injury to us, and to our children. Your conduct does not fall within the exception contained in s19 of the ACL because it is conduct engaged in prior to any publication, including in the course of gathering information for the purposes of making a publication. We are extremely concerned that your broadcast, which we have yet to review, may seriously compromise the safety, wellbeing and reputation of our children, including a surviving twin infant who will, through no fault of his own, be exposed to media scrutiny and a public inquiry. Section 105 of the Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1998 (NSW) prohibits the identification of children who are likely to be reasonably involved in any capacity in non-court proceedings. These children cannot be broadcast in an identifiable form in New South Wales. This prohibition affects one or several of our children. You and Rebecca have breached ethical obligations by taking advantage of the profound grief and social isolation our families have been through and by extracting information from us on false premises. We believe that there are profound human rights concerns affecting our experiences and we had hoped your program would consider and explore these genuine concerns. You have taken advantage of our trust and hope. Withdrawal of Consent and Notice of Intention to Take Action Please note that we do not consent to any use of any materials provided to, or information collected by, Sunday Night or Channel Seven representatives, for any purpose. We require the immediate return of all information and/or photographic images provided to you. We are currently preparing a complaint to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission and to the ABC’s Media Watch, together with copies of the communications between Channel Seven and us. We will also be filing a complaint with the Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance against you and Rebecca personally for breaches of the Ethical Code of Conduct. In the event of any dissemination of information collected from us, by whatever means, we will be filing a complaint with the relevant broadcasting authorities responsible for overseeing Channel Seven’s code of conduct, and considering commencing proceedings for breach of contract, misleading and deceptive conduct, and defamation. We reserve our rights.
Posted on: Sun, 14 Jul 2013 12:23:20 +0000
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