Candace Owens gave birth to her second child, Louise Marie Farmer, on July 13. What should have been a very happy experience was marred by what she describes as “bullying” and “corruption” on behalf of medical staff.
Following her maternity leave, Owens returned to Daily Wire’s “The Candace Owens Show” podcast this week and shared that she continues to wrestle with her row with the “medical mafia.”
Owens notes that her postdelivery sleep was constantly interrupted by discourteous staff, that she felt pressured to submit her child to unnecessary tests and medication and that she was threatened with having her insurance declined, being charged with a misdemeanor and being reported to Child Protective Services.
The Daily Mail identified the hospital as Ascension Saint Thomas in Nashville.
Owens is not a first-time mother and noted that both of her children were delivered without issue but that following her daughter’s birth she was very tired.
“And all I [was] looking for is some sleep,” Owens said on her podcast. “So, we get put up in our room, where, of course, you know, if you would like to stay for 48 hours, you can, and I’m under the assumption that if I’d like to leave earlier than the 48 hours I’m also welcome to do that.”
Owens continued: “Well, the first 24 hours in the hospital after giving birth are extremely stressful, and it almost at a certain point starts to feel like you’re being pranked with how many times they knock on the door.”
“But you are not allowed to sleep in a hospital after you’ve just given birth,” Owens complained.
They check for vitals, Owens said, and then “I promise you, 15 minutes later — knock, knock. ‘We have to check your vitals.'”
“And this happens about every hour … it feels like every hour,” she said. According to the Western Journal, the interruptions included repeated checks of both her and the baby’s vital signs, a weighing of the baby, a check of the baby’s hearing, an offer to enroll in Dolly Parton’s free book program for children and an offer to have the hospital photographer take a picture of the baby.
Owens then recounted that, after a very restless night, a woman entered her room with postpartum forms to be filled out to identify how happy the mother is and if she might be liable to be depressed. Owens said:
“I remember actually sitting there and thinking, ‘This is like Guantanamo Bay.’ You keep knocking, you refuse to let us sleep, and now you want to ask me whether or not I’m crazy because the answer is yes, you’re driving me crazy.”
The second night was worse, said Owens. “Despite pleading with a nurse for a mere four hours of uninterrupted sleep, the intrusions resumed. One of them was to weigh the baby at 2 a.m. naked on a cold scale, causing the infant to scream.”
By 4 a.m., Owens had enough — she and her husband announced they were leaving, at which point a nurse supervisor informed them that checking out without a newborn blood test was a misdemeanor under Tennessee law.
Owens responded: “And for my understanding, when you say a misdemeanor … are you going to write a ticket? Am I going to get arrested? Do I have a court hearing?'”
The nurse replied: “Well, I don’t know because no one’s ever refused it.”
Owens initially decided to have the test done, but then was told she needed to be signed out by an obstetrician and a hospital pediatrician.
The pediatrician indicated he would not release Owens because she declined antibiotics for her baby, citing the possibility of the infant having Group B streptococcus.
The doctor informed Owens she needed to stay for another 20 hours for a total of 48 hours, a suspicious number since it coincided with the maximum amount of time insurance companies are obliged to pay (in healthy birth/no medical issue situations).
A skeptical Owens asked her podcast audience: “Could it be that insurance covers a hospital stay for exactly 48 hours, which means hospital profits?”
Owens suggested the pediatrician test her baby for GBS, but the doctor refused. “We don’t do that,” the doctor reportedly said.
Owens charged: “This is what I’m talking about when I say there is hospital corruption. We won’t test you or the baby, but we will keep you for an extra 20 hours of monitoring so we can guarantee ourselves profit.”
As Owens and her husband began to leave, they were told they would have to wait to meet with Child Protective Services, which, they were told, coincidently, might take another 24 hours. They were also told that if they decided to leave, their insurance claim might be denied.
An angry Owens said: “I have talked to mothers about this — the bullying that takes place — the medical bullying.”
“These are the threats. They want you to think your child is going to die unless you listen to them. ‘Give your child four COVID vaccines, or they’ll die!’ Even though the numbers, the statistics, do not reflect that,” she claimed.
“They don’t care. They want to bully you. It’s a sale. You’re a dollar. Your child is a dollar sign, and they’re going to make you take this product; they’re going to make you stay in this hospital unless you do it.”
Owens added, “And then when I don’t pivot when she says that, when I don’t respond, she throws out the second thing. ‘Well, insurance might not cover it. We’re going to make you poor. We’re going to send you a bill, and you’re going to have to pay out of pocket. You can’t afford to not take the drugs.'”
Owens vowed: “I will never, ever, ever allow someone to bully me into making a decision I am not comfortable with. I knew that my child was healthy, and I knew that I was healthy, and I knew that I could continue to raise my child in a healthy environment back home, but if I could get just a little bit of sleep and be well-rested, that that was the best possible thing to happen.”
Ultimately, Owens called the hospital’s bluff, walked out with their baby, never heard from CPS, and saw insurance pay their bill in full.
The Western Journal reports that they reached out to Ascension Saint Thomas Hospital for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
Candace’s podcast is noted below
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