"The government has taken over my family"

Those are the anguished words of a Swedish father whose 7-year-old son was removed last June from an airplane as it sat atop the tarmac waiting to take off for India. The man's wife is Indian and the family was moving there to help care for relatives.

The boy was removed by Swedish authorities because his parents chose not to vaccinate him and opted to homeschool him -- ironically both legal under Swedish law. A Swedish court subsequently upheld the forced removal.

The boy remains in foster care and his parents are allowed to visit with him for one hour every five weeks. The father reports that his wife's health is suffering because of the enormous stress of the situation.

The Homeschool Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) is advising the family and has documented the boy was removed from his family "without a warrant or reasonable cause to believe he was being harmed."

HSLDA also reports, "At times referred to as a 'social utopia,' Sweden is completely antagonistic toward homeschoolers and, in reality, anyone who deviates from what the Swedish government defines as 'normal.' The government's quest for conformity produces troubling side effects: the criminalization of actions – such as a parent's decision regarding the best form of education for his child – that ought to be the hallmarks of a free, democratic society."

If you homeschool, I urge you to become a member of your state homeschool advocacy group at the very least. Better yet, join HSLDA and know that your membership dues really do help to fight stupidity -- even when it happens on the other side of the world.

Better yet, visit HSLDA's website at www.hslda.org for the latest updates on the story of Annie and Christer Johansson and their son Dominic. Click on the link that lets you register your own protest with Swedish authorities over their decision to subjugate parental rights in favor of the state.