Planck V. Indiana :: essays research papers

Planck v. Indiana In the reviewing the case of Planck v. Indiana, many complicated issues arise. Included in those, individual rights conflicting with the public good are among the most difficult. According to Mr and Mrs. Planck's attorney, John Price, the Planck's religious beliefs prohibit them from accepting professional medicine practice, as they practice alternative medicine and home school their children. After a complaint from an older Planck daughter, who did not embrace or respect her family's lifestyle, the state was called in to investigate the health of the Planck children. In a preliminary check by the state of Indiana for eyesight, Lance Planck was found not to be in need of any service. Despite this finding, the Madison County Superior Court ordered that all of the Planck's children's eyes be examined by the state. One month after the Court ordered this, twenty armed officers with guns drawn came to the Planck's residence and commanded Mr. and Mrs. Planck to give up their children. Mr. Planck told the officers that he did not know why they were there, was pushed to the ground and had loaded rifles pointed at him. The children were then forcibly removed from their parents custody, and at no time was any identification shown by the officers. Curt, Lance Planck's younger brother, resisted this removal from his house, and was threatened by an officer that he would be "dragged out of here." After this scene, Emily, Stephen, and Curtis Planck were loaded into a van and driven to an eye doctor in Anderson, Indiana. The examining doctor, Dr. Joseph Woschitz, came to the conclusion that no treatment was needed for any of the children. How can the state justify this type of behavior? Is ripping a child unwillingly from his mother's arms in the best interest of the public good? What does society have to benefit from this? In short, this does not affect the public good per se, but does affect the Plancks and any other family that practices a religion that is not widely accepted. Following the above events, Mr. and Mrs. Planck were subsequently arrested, had their First Amendment rights violated, and had their home invaded by armed SWAT team members who fired a CS tear gas canister into their house. Simply, Mr. and Mrs. Planck and their children were targeted by the state selectively because of their religious beliefs which they manifested in home education and the practice of alternative medicine. The fundamental argument here is that the Planck's rights have been violated, and the State of Indiana has overstepped its duty of caring for the Planck's children.