PKU disease and a judge's anti-science stance

As is well known, a heel prick test is performed on every newborn baby. The purpose of this is to diagnose Phenylketonuria, known as PKU, and to ensure the baby grows and lives healthily. This is because if a baby has PKU and treatment and a diet are not started within 6 months, the baby begins to suffer from mental regression, and it is impossible to reverse this.

In other words, if a heel prick test is not performed on a baby and the baby has PKU, it means you will have a child whose intelligence will not fully develop.

To prevent this, a drop of blood is taken from every baby without exception at birth and tested. If the baby is healthy, nothing is done and the family raises their child. However, if the test confirms a PKU diagnosis, the family is immediately called in, treatment and a diet are started, and the child grows up perfectly healthy. In this way, 6 thousand sick babies are identified annually.

Everything we have described here is a scientific fact.

And science is as certain as two plus two equals four; you cannot get coincidental results.

However, according to reports in the media, a family in Kars objected to their baby having a heel prick test, the matter was taken to court, and the judge ruled in favor of the family, citing the views of an Islamic medical scholar in the justification. Thus, we have seen for the first time that there is a religious distinction in medicine; apparently, diseases change according to the patient's religion (!)

It is understandable that a family might not have knowledge about what PKU is, what a disease is, or what the consequences might be; that is, the family may be unfamiliar with the subject and make such a request.

But if a court is to make a decision regarding such a request from a family, it is expected that the judge would consult with experts who know the subject and make a decision in the light of science.

But the Kars Family Court did not do this and made such a decision based on a number of non-scientific justifications.

We do not know how the judge will bear the weight of the conscience of this responsibility if this baby becomes mentally disabled in the future as a result of this decision.

Fortunately, the Kars Provincial Health Directorate appealed this decision by the judge to a higher court, and presumably, this appeal will be accepted and the initial decision will be rendered null and void.

Yesterday, I wanted to call the Kars Courthouse to ask if the higher court's decision had arrived, because time is working against the baby, but they said, "We cannot provide information." They also happened to mention that the judge who made the decision was only serving temporarily when they made it; it turns out the judge was not the judge of that court, but had made such a decision while on temporary assignment.

All pediatricians in Turkey and health workers involved in the subject know the importance of PKU and a drop of blood taken from the heel.

There is an association called the PKU Family Association, and this association works solely for the prevention of this disease and the treatment of patients.

Furthermore, rare diseases, which number in the thousands, are each a harsh reality, and there are countless non-governmental organizations, associations, foundations, and volunteers fighting for these rare diseases.

With all of this in plain sight, it is very surprising that such a decision could come out of a court in 2024, and with archaic justifications at that.

Every person can have an opinion, and the freedom to view events ideologically is, after all, what freedom of thought means.

But when it comes to science, you cannot view events ideologically.

Because fire burns, floods drown, and the sun rises and sets; debating these is an exercise in futility.

We are already paying the price for ideological decisions; the economic crisis that the current government has plunged Turkey into by handling the issue of interest rates with a "nas" (religious decree) logic is evident, and we are experiencing its hardships.

Let's say the "nas" issue ultimately only led to the impoverishment of all of Turkey, that is, 86 million people; the damage was done to property.

If you view a disease like PKU ideologically, you become the cause of the health of the baby you are making a decision about either improving or deteriorating, and there is a moral responsibility for this.

We already know that the government does not consider those who do not hold certain ideologies as one of their own. We also know that this tendency is being attempted to be made a rule in all state institutions.

But still, everyone should have a little conscience, and those who claim to be religious should also have a fear of God.