Biff_Poindexter
Diamond Member
Black Couple Says Texas Authorities Seized Their Newborn Because They Chose a Midwife Over a Hospital
Rodney and Temecia Jackson say their pediatrician reported them to Dallas CPS when their baby developed jaundice, and Rodney was arrested for not giving her up.
jezebel.com
"Two weeks ago, Dallas parents Temecia and Rodney Jackson opted for a home birth for their newborn daughter, Mila, with licensed midwife Cheryl Edinbyrd. As of Thursday, the infant remains in the custody of Dallas Child Protective Services -- Minutes before the start of a scheduled Thursday morning hearing for the couple to get their newborn back, the hearing was postponed to April 20th—two weeks from now. Shortly after Mila’s birth last month, upon taking her to see their pediatrician, they learned she had developed a case of jaundice—a highly common condition in newborns, which typically goes away without treatment within one to two weeks. Dr. Anand Bhatt said the case was severe enough that they should take her to the hospital for phototherapy treatment, but the Jacksons opted to do the same phototherapy treatment for Mila in their home under Edinbyrd’s guidance.
According to the letter Bhatt ultimately wrote CPS, published by local outlet WFAA, he was concerned that they had the wrong lights for the treatment. They connected him with Edinbyrd, but he was having trouble getting back in touch with them [the parents] directly, and he decided to report them. Within days, the Jacksons say Dallas police officers and CPS agents arrived at their doorstep at around 5 a.m., informing the family that their pediatrician had reported them and demanding that they turn her over. The officers eventually left their home when the Jacksons refused. Over the next few days, everything seemed fine. But last Tuesday, as Rodney was walking the family’s dog outside their house, the police returned. He refused to surrender the baby when they confronted him, so they placed him under arrest, seized his keys, and used them to enter his home. There, officers took Mila from Temecia while she was alone."
I am trying to see how a case of jaundice warranted the state taking away a newborn from their parents. On top of that, the police didn't even have the mother's name on the warrant; they had someone else's name...Seems like these parents are being punished for having their child at home; instead of the hospital....there is no other way to look at this...to make matters worse, during the time their baby has been with the foster family, the mother has been barred from breastfeeding her child -- how is this not a bigger story?