FORT WORTH, Texas — As he testified at the state Capitol last week, Tarrant County Sheriff Bill Waybourn grew emotional.
He said his 15-year-old foster daughter, Alyssa, suffered medical abuse at the hands of her biological mother as a child.
“I apologize for the emotions as I think back at these things,” Waybourn said.
To date, there’s no law in the country that criminalizes medical child abuse, also known as Munchausen syndrome by proxy.
Now, Tarrant County officials are working to change that.
HB 3381, a proposed Texas law that would criminalize medical child abuse, was approved by a House committee last week. To be clear, the bill does not specifically mention Munchausen syndrome by proxy in the text.
Supporters of the bill include the Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney's Office and the Tarrant County Sheriff's Office. State Rep. David Cook, R-Mansfield, sponsored the bill.
Waybourn was among many who testified in Austin.
“When the big people get in the room, we take care of the kids,” Waybourn said.
During his testimony, he said that his foster daughter weighed 18 pounds as a toddler, was dehydrated and was fed feces through her feeding tube by her biological mother. Once she was under the care of medical professionals, she began to flourish.
“At the time, I said, how did law enforcement miss this? Why haven’t we been involved? It’s very complicated to get involved,” Waybourn said.
Medical abuse, also known as Munchausen syndrome by proxy, happens when a caregiver knowingly lies or fabricates symptoms in someone they’re caring for. When this happens, the person under their care receives unnecessary medical treatments or undergoes surgeries that are not needed.
Christopher Bowen’s case is an example out of North Texas. In 2019, his mother, Kaylene Bowen-Wright, was sentenced to six years in prison for injury to a child.
According to court records, his mother abused him for more than eight years with 320 hospital visits and 13 surgeries. Christopher used a wheelchair and feeding tubes, and doctors said it was all unnecessary.
During the testimony, several testified in opposition to the proposed law.
Maureen Ball, an attorney for Child Protective Services and a member of the Family Freedom Foundation Project, was among those who voiced their concerns.
“It goes too far,” Ball said. “It’s going to have unintended consequences. It’s going to infringe upon the parents who are trying to do good for their child.”
Ashley Pardo, another parent, also spoke out against the bill.
“As a parent of a medically complex child who has been through false allegations herself and who almost had my life destroyed and family torn apart, I can tell you that medical records can be manipulated very easily from the provider’s side,” Pardo said. “I find this absolutely terrifying.”
If the law is passed, Texas would be the first state where such a law exists.
“I would hope others would follow,” Waybourn said.