Witness Testimony

Dr. Keren Epstein-Gilboa, a developmental psychologist and independent scholar, presented behavioural science and systems-based analysis of the effects of COVID-19 measures on infants, children, and families. Drawing on developmental models, attachment theory, and neurobiology, she testified that early childhood requires face-to-face interaction, proximity, and emotional attunement for healthy brain development. She argued that masking, distancing, hospital visitor restrictions, NICU separation, and maternal stress interfered with sensitive developmental periods, potentially affecting emotional regulation, cognitive development, and resilience.
She further testified that social isolation and loneliness were long-established risk factors for poor health outcomes and that insufficient risk–benefit analysis appeared to have been conducted with respect to child development. She cited examples including masked breastfeeding guidance, birth partner restrictions, child self-isolation policies, and school closures. She stated that these measures did not adequately account for developmental tasks across age groups and raised concerns about long-term psychological and social effects.
Dr. Epstein-Gilboa also examined bioethics principles, particularly autonomy, beneficence, justice, and non-maleficence, asserting that informed decision-making and respect for persons were undermined during the pandemic. She described regulatory restrictions on healthcare professionals’ speech and framed public messaging within the context of behavioural influence strategies, including the federal behavioural insights or “Nudge” framework. She concluded that systemic ethical failures and psychologically informed messaging strategies contributed to social division and developmental harm.