http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=2798&u_sid=10157077
Published Saturday | October 13, 2007
Omaha court case widens from screening test to baby's meals
BY JENNIFER PALMER
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER
A judge ordered that 6-week-old Joel Anaya, whose hungry cries interrupted
Friday's court hearing, be administered the state-mandated newborn screening
test his parents object to and remain in foster care until the test results are
received, despite the mother's wishes to continue nursing the boy.
Mary Anaya in 2003.Joel's parents, Mary and Josue Anaya of Omaha, object to
the testing because of their religious beliefs and conscience. They believe in
certain Scriptures that say life is in the blood.
The Anayas previously fought a court order that the testing be done on their
daughter, Rosa, but in 2005, the Nebraska Supreme Court upheld the order to
have the testing performed. In that case, Rosa remained in the Anayas'
custody while the case was being argued.
State law requires metabolic testing of all newborns. The tests, which involve
pricking a baby's heel and drawing about five drops of blood, are used to
screen for a variety of conditions, including cystic fibrosis and sickle cell
disease. Doctors recommend the test be performed when babies are between
1 day and 1 week old, because the diseases could lead to mental retardation
or death.
Most states provide some sort of exception for people who object to the blood
tests based on "religious" or "sincerely held" beliefs. Nebraska has no such
provision.
Joel was taken into state custody after a petition was filed Wednesday in
Douglas County Juvenile Court. Prosecutors argued that because Joel has not
received the testing, he is at risk for mental retardation or death.
Douglas County Juvenile Court Judge Elizabeth Crnkovich agreed.
"I can't imagine greater risk than death or disability. How does it get any
worse than those two things?" she said at Friday's hearing, which was held to
determine whether Joel should remain in state custody or be returned to his
parents.
Crnkovich said she didn't believe the Anayas would follow the order to have
the testing done, so she ordered that the boy remain in foster care until
preliminary results confirm no further testing is needed.
"I don't know how long it will take. I am sensitive to the love of these parents.
But I have to admit, I don't understand placing a loved one at risk. That one
boggles the mind," Crnkovich said.
Hospital staff say results could take about a week.
Earlier in the hearing, Mary Anaya, who has been visiting her son several times
a day in foster care to breastfeed, cringed when she heard him crying from
outside the courtroom.
Dressed in a conservative black suit, she told the judge her convictions
prevented her from swearing, so instead she "affirmed" to tell the truth before
taking the stand. During her testimony, she answered questions about her
son's feeding habits. "Do you nurse your baby?" her attorney, Jeff Downing,
asked.
"Yes," she replied.
"How many times per day?"
"Eight or nine times," she said.
"If I said someone came in and said the baby needs nursed, this would be
about the right time, wouldn't it?"
Interrupting, Crnkovich said the line of questioning was inappropriate and
briefly talked to the attorneys in private.
She then left the courtroom, and when she returned, she quipped, "It has
come to the court's attention . . . that the child is hungry and needs to be
fed."
She ordered workers with the Nebraska Health and Human Services
Department to take the baby out of the courthouse, feed him, and not bring
him back.
She later added, "I don't approve of Mom popping in (to the foster home) nine
times a day to nurse."
The hearing continued with Mary Anaya on the stand.
When asked what her objection to the testing was, Anaya said the Bible
states that life is in the blood. "To me, the blood is something important and
not to be tampered with," she said.
Anaya and her husband are ordained ministers and administrators of the
Mission for All Nations food and clothing pantry in Omaha. They take their faith
very seriously and are raising their children according to those beliefs, Anaya
told the court.
But after the hearing, crying in a courtroom hallway, Mary Anaya seemed more
concerned about her son being fed than the testing being done.
"This is inhumane — to deny my right to feed my baby," she said, distraught
over where her baby had been taken.
The Anayas have 10 children aged 21 years to 6 weeks. They have avoided
having the metabolic screening done on most of their 10 children.
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