Why should Ezekiel Stephan's parents have to post their own court sentence?

Ms. Stephan shall post or cause to be posted an unedited accurate copy of this decision to the [Prayers For Ezekiel Facebook page] and any website or social media sites that she is personally affiliated with,- Justice Rodney Jerke

That was part of the sentencing decision in the trial of two parents in the death of their three year old toddler.

​Collet Stephan and her husband, David Stephan, were convicted for failing to provide the necessaries of life to their 19-month-old son, Ezekiel, who died of bacterial meningitis.

It's a decision many felt was without precedent. 

But Leslie Waghorn was glad to see the judge in the case take action. 

She runs this website and says the influence of social media on health decisions cannot be ignored, because often it is the battleground for the people who are torn between medicine and alternative therapies like naturopathy. 

While it might seem odd to some to take medical advice from your social networks, Waghorn says that is a reflection of the failure in communication by advocates of evidence-based medicine. 

"Scientists, doctors, and academics, are very smart, but they're also generally terrible communicators." 

Waghorn says often ess value is placed on how the message is communicated, which ironically, is often cited as a reason people seek alternative therapies.

How we hear something is very important and it's very crucial to the decisions we make to feel like we're heard and that our concerns are reflected back and addressed, even if those concerns in a clinical sense might not hold much weight- Leslie Waghorn

While she acknowledges there will be people — fervent supporters of the Stephans who are entrenched in naturopathy and homeopathy — who aren't affected, Waghorn says she is hopeful that those who are in the middle ground will engage with the information. 

Click the play button above to listen to the full interview with guest host Michelle Eliot.