Judge declines to rule on FLDS mothers' request to remain with nursing babies.

Tell me what you think of this issue.  From the Salt Lake Tribune:

The Texas judge overseeing the polygamous FLDS sect's case today refused to make any ruling that would allow breast-feeding mothers to remain with their children in state custody.

Walther was addressing a request for temporary restraining orders filed by attorneys for four of the nursing mothers, but on behalf of all mothers there.  The request asked the court to stop Texas child-welfare workers from separating mothers and children, to allow private prayer, and to give the women and children telephone access to their lawyers.
   
The judge said she would leave it up to CPS officials and the attorneys to work something out on the breast-feeding. The attorneys, however, replied that they have so far been unable to come up with a workable agreement.
   
CPS officials plan to separate 68 women with children under five from their kids once DNA samples are taken. The sampling began today.

In a separate article:

[Judge] Walther acknowledged the nutritional and bonding benefits of breast-feeding.

"But every day in this country, we have mothers who go back to work after six weeks of maternity leave," she said.

...The judge's decision drew a rapid response from breast-feeding proponents, who began rallying around the FLDS mothers. Nicole D. Hoff, a certified lactation counselor in Texas, set up an instant Web site - http://fldsbreastmilk.blogspot.com.

"While we may not agree or understand the circumstances, I think we need to fight for the right of the children to have the best care and nutrition, which includes breastmilk," she said in a message on the site.

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Comments

[Adventures In Babywearing]

Oh, the whole situation just makes me sad. I don't think there is any easy way about it, but I wish someone would just consider what the kids may be feeling, taken from their mothers when they all never knew any different. Didn't know any better. I just think there has to be a more humane way to be handling it all- and the main thing being to keep these precious children with their families when at all possible.

Steph

[Andrea in KS]

What a hard situation. I think that CPS & the mother's reps shold find a way for the babies to at the very least get expressed breastmilk. I would hate to see one of these babies have some sort of reaction to formula given in foster care. That would open up a WHOLE other can of worms. And what if these babies are eventually re-united with their moms? How do you salvage the breastfeeding relationship?

[jennifer]

I don't get it - so the judge isn't the most sensitive guy on the issue, but he didn't make a ruling, so who cares? He bumped the issue to the people who should decide - the people who should have the best interests of the kids at heart.

I frankly find it a little weird that the moms involved care about their kids enough to make sure they're breastfed, but not enough to make sure their sons aren't cast out of the group to make way for the polygamists, or to make sure their daughters aren't offered up as prey. And if they feel strongly enough about the issue, perhaps on their website - in which they're chronicling the damage done to doorways (DOORWAYS, people) during the search - they could ask for a few breastpumps to be donated. The working mom analogy is apt in one way - plenty of moms BF their kids without mouth-to-breast contact, and if the FLDS moms feel so strongly about it, I want to see the lengths they're going to before I see a judge intervene.

[Kansas Mom]

I'm afraid I haven't been following this case very closely, but it's my understanding the initial report of abuse (the phone call from a pregnant 16 year old) has been proven false and no other abuse has been found. In this case, I think CPS and the judge should err on the side of the mothers and allow the young children to remain with them, especially those that are breastfeeding.

As for pumping, it's extremely difficult to keep up a supply of breastmilk solely by pumping. Even working mothers nurse in the evenings, weekends, or whenever they're actually with their children. Personally, I pumped three days a week while working after my son was born and it was difficult just during those days.

One article reporting on the nursing infants being removed from their mother's care even stated in the same paragraph that there was a lack of homes for infants in the CPS system. Just based on that article (which I'm sorry I can't link to here) and what little I know, it does not seem clear to me that the infants (and perhaps all the children) can be promised a safer home where they're going than where they are. In that case, parents should receive the benefit of the doubt.

I fervently hope they find no evidence of abuse and all these children are returned to their families, though any man guilty of polygamy (which is a crime) should be duly tried and punished.

[Becky]

Regardless of how I feel about the religion of the folks involved here, those babies belong with their mothers. No if, ands or buts about it. That nursing relationship will be damaged and that is just not acceptable. I hope all the involved parties can work this out. I had not heard that the call was proved false.

[onetinkerbell]

I think that the judge, being a woman, should try harder to keep the nursing babies with their mothers, even if that may mean to keep the women in custody as well as the children.

I don't think that it has been proved that the 16 year-old who made the call to CPS doesn't exist, so I think that the state had a right and a need to get the children out of there.

It should be pointed out that, according to people from the CPS who were involved in this "raid" (for lack of a better term), many of the women who are now complaining that they were taken away from the children were actually told that they could stay and instead they chose to leave. That makes it difficult to tell who is telling the truth.

What I think is most interesting is the fact that there are young girls who are pregnant and/or have babies of their own, despite being underage for marriage in TX. Since we know that it is highly unlikely that these girls got pregnant out of wedlock, then the only other conclusion is that they had underage sex with someone who was of age. Will TX law consider that abuse (it should) and if so, will the babies of these girls be removed from their custody? Because I can see the legal argument that if a minor female is at risk for abuse upon return to her family, she certainly can't protect her baby from abuse.

I think that the problems that will arise from the whole event are numerous and that the nursing issue is just the tip of the iceberg.

[Katrina]

This whole case is quite sad and troublesome on many levels. But I definitely think the babies should stay with their mothers. These women are mostly victims themselves, having grown up in this backwards community and knowing no different. Why traumatize the children more than they already are by separating them from their mothers? I don't see the point.

[Andrea in KS]

From what I understand IF the mother is 18 or younger they are able to stay with their babies & both go into some sort of foster care as a pair.