Infant taken away from blind parents??

[Relic]

Woah, now here's a story that took me off guard...
As a parent, every shred of my being wants to see a loving set of parents keep their child. But what if the child might be in danger?

http://www.parentdish.com/2010/07/23...ay-by-state%2F

Erika Johnson and Blake Sinnett of Missouri had a baby. For two days. Then they had a nightmare. State authorities took their baby away because both Johnson and Sinnett are blind.

Following a public outcry, little Mikaela was returned to her parents this week, and authorities were reminded of an ancient truism: None are so blind than those who will not see.

But Johnson tells the Kansas City Star she's not bitter.

"I'm a forgiving person," she says. Nonetheless, she adds, she resents the lingering prejudice people in power have against the handicapped.

"Disability does not equal inability," she tells the newspaper.

Mikaela was born May 21 at Centerpoint Medical Center in Independence, Mo. The Star reports doctors let Sinnett "see" his daughter's birth by feeling the crowning of her head.

According to the newspaper, Johnson's first attempts at breast-feeding were clumsy. A nurse noticed Mikaela's nostrils were covered by Johnson's breast, and Johnson felt that something was wrong. She switched the baby to her other side, but not before Mikaela turned blue.

A nurse wrote on a chart: "The child is without proper custody, support or care due to both of (the) parents being blind, and they do not have specialized training to assist them."

That notation kicked the system into auto-pilot and plunged the new parents, both 24, into a nightmare. It would be 57 days before they were reunited with their baby.

When Johnson held Mikaela again July 20, the Star reports, the new mother couldn't stop crying.

"We never got the chance to be parents," she tells the newspaper. "We had to prove that we could."

Although they were able to return to their home in Independence that day, they still faced an adjudication hearing to determine whether or not they would have to basically share custody of their baby with the state.

However, the Star reports, they got a call from their attorney, Amy Coopman, saying the state had dropped the case.

"Every minute that has passed that this family wasn't together is a tragedy -- a legal tragedy and a moral one, too," Coopman tells the Star. "How do you get 57 days back?"

Arleasha Mays, a spokeswoman for the Missouri Department of Social Services, tells the newspaper she can't comment on what happened because of privacy rules. Still, she insists, "the only time we recommend a child be removed is if it's in imminent danger."

Johnson tells the Star questions from a social worker started flying as soon as Mikaela was born.

How could they take the baby's temperature? With a talking thermometer. How would they get her to a doctor? In an emergency, they'd call an ambulance. For a regular appointment, they'd call a cab or ride a bus.

Johnson tells the paper those solutions weren't enough for the social worker. She and Sinnett were told they would need 24-hour care by a sighted person at their apartment. Johnson responded they couldn't afford such help and didn't need it.

"I needed help as a new parent, but not as a blind parent," Johnson tells the Star.

Soon, Mikaela was gone. The Star reports her parents weren't even allowed to hold her as she left the hospital. All they could do was touch her arm or leg.

Advocates for the blind were quickly on the case.

Gary Wunder, the president of the National Federation of the Blind of Missouri, tells the Star he found the story almost too incredible to believe.

"I needed to verify their whole story," he tells the newspaper. "We had to do due diligence. I found the couple to be intelligent and responsible. We knew this was an outrage that had taken place."

Wunder and other advocates rallied other associations for the blind nationwide. More than 100 people at a National Federation of the Blind national convention in Dallas volunteered to travel to Kansas City to protest and testify, both as blind parents and as the sighted children of blind parents.

They also hired Coopman, who tells the Star this is not the end of the story. Legal action will be taken.

"Whether a couple is visually impaired or deaf or in a wheelchair, the state should not keep them from their children," she adds.

[EricF]

As with any parent, being able to properly care for their child is the primary concern. If they can do that, then I see no issue in them being parents. Based on this article, it seems they have the single most imporant thing in being a good parent - the desire to do it.

[MadMan118]

Yeah they're going to have some obstacles, just like any first time parents. Instead of taking someones child the state should offer them help. No wonder people don't trust the govt.

[MatticusMania]

The Gub'mint: Messin with peoples **** since 1775!

[baalroo]

I'm not sure how I feel about this, it's truly a tough situation for all involved.

First off, I think the system they had to deal with is in place for good reason, but we can't expect it to work without fail in every case. We don't see articles about all the times that these "automatic triggers" save a child's life... one such instance which likely saved a good friend of mine's life when he was a child and removed from his parents home at a very young age after he was brought into the emergency room by an obviously inebriated parent after being bathed in scalding hot water. This particular instance may have been undesirable, but let's not throw out the baby with the bath water.

In regards to this particular instance, I'm not certain it was even the "wrong" call. They are completely right in saying that "'disability' does not equal 'inability,'" but it does still mean "disability." Have we gotten so politically correct that we can't admit that two blind people will have a much more challenging time caring for a newborn than two sighted people would? Should the fact that the women's disability was cause for the child nearly suffocating during breastfeeding be ignored simply because it's uncomfortable to admit there's a posibility that both parents being blind may actually be dangerous to this child?

I frankly believe that the fact that the child was removed from their custody at the first sign of legitimate danger, but returned to them once they showed they were "up to the challenge" could be considered a success story on all accounts and that everyone involved (including the brave parents) should be applauded.

[baalroo]

Originally Posted by MadMan118

Yeah they're going to have some obstacles, just like any first time parents. Instead of taking someones child the state should offer them help. No wonder people don't trust the govt.

Well, it's really a rock and a hard place situation. Take the kid away and you're "meddling in people's affairs," offer them help and you're "giving handouts on the taxpayer's dime," do nothing and you "dropped the ball."

[champbassist]

Originally Posted by MadMan118

Instead of taking someones child the state should offer them help.

I was thinking of something on the same lines.

Originally Posted by baalroo

offer them help and you're "giving handouts on the taxpayer's dime,"

Would people say that if the government assists a blind couple?

[basstotheface]

Originally Posted by champbassist

I was thinking of something on the same lines.
I was thinking the same thing until he brought up this issue...

Would people say that if the government assists a blind couple?
SOME people definitely would.

.

[tycobb73]

I'm legally blind and I think it was right for the state to look into it. But we learn to adapt.

Sun I was at 2 lake parties, 1 in a very public place with 500 poeple in Lake Michigan. I told my wife if she wanted to stay we were going to have to be 3 feet away from the kids or she was watching them all by themselves.

We left for the other place where I could watch my kids play with a few others but could count the bobbing heads easilly so I knew when my kids were safe without having to be 3 feet away from them. The adult to kid ratio was also much better and everyone there was a friend.

I purposely built my house 2-3 miles away from my parents'. Too far to walk and be over all the time but a 5 minute ride if you need something. And I need something regularly.

These are just 2 examples of how you adjust.
but the state was right in looking into this.

[tycobb73]

Also, I'm a minarchist and hate virtually all government involvoement. but one of the few areas of government I believe in is protecting the life of those who can't protect themselves, and infants fall into this. You have to draw a line between priavacy and protection somewhere but keeping an infant alive is far below that line.

[Lady Kayri]

Um, there are quite a few kids born to parents who are legally blind; blind parents raise kids successfully on numerous occasions. I don't understand why the state in question got all in a lather when it's been done before, with no harm, no foul to the kids involved. As said before, if necessary give the parents a bit of training to overcome potential hurdles.

[anyonefortennis]

Just came here to say I attempted th change a diaper at 4AM last night without my glasses and miserably failed. #newparent

Hope they get to keep their child and wish them the best of luck.

[Relic]

I have mixed feelings about this - on one hand, they are loving caring parents, I have no doubt about that. On the flip side however, being a parent of three kids I know how difficult it can be to take care of an infant.
I do think that these parents can do a great job, but I also feel that they will need some sort of guidance, training, or some sort of specialized assistance just to make sure that the infant is ok. No loving responsible parents should ever have their child taken away from them - I think that these two are mostly responsible but maybe a little naive at just how hard it can be to care for an infant.

[EricF]

Originally Posted by Relic

...I think that these two are mostly responsible but maybe a little naive at just how hard it can be to care for an infant.

Isn't that the case for most new parents? I know it was for me my first time.