Missouri Department of Social Services Commits the Ultimate Abuse

There is a special magic between a mother and her newborn child, a wondrous thing unlike any other. This bond is so strong that a newborn’s every gesture, its every need, its every cry and indeed its every nuance is perceived by the mother. It’s instinctive; a mother just senses it. Like special sonar detecting the minutest sound, so a mother can decipher her baby’s needs.

"After carrying this seed inside you for nine months, this new person you give birth to becomes more you than yourself. You protect it with your Life. Overnight, this new being become more important than yourself."

Such is the bond between a Mother and her Newborn Child. This extraordinary Love and Devotion is nothing new, nor is it unique. This is a normal, everyday occurrence, engrained in us to ensure the perpetuation of the species. Every one of us has had that adoration, or else we wouldn’t be here, or we wouldn’t be whole…

Imagine this lovely picture of a young mother nursing her newborn baby. It’s an idyllic image indeed. Now imagine social services snatching this mother’s two day old infant from her bosom, simply because this mother was blind. "Is this a horror story", you ask. Nope; I wish this was all fiction, but unfortunately, it’s the truth! On May 23^rd, 2010, the state of Missouri saw fit to take this baby away from its parents because the parents were blind.

“When the Centerpoint lactation nurse noticed that Erika’s breast was covering Mikaela’s nostrils, she was concerned. But instead of patiently working with the young mother (like we would hope any nurse or lactation consultant would do), she decided that Erika was incapable of caring for her newborn.

On Mikaela’s chart, the Centerpoint nurse recorded the words that would irrevocably change the course of the infant’s future: “The child is without proper custody, support or care due to both of parents being blind and they do not have specialized training to assist them.

A social worker came next to ask questions: How could she take her baby’s temperature? [Ms.] Johnson answered: with our talking thermometer. How will you take her to a doctor if she gets sick? Johnson’s reply: If it were an emergency, they’d call an ambulance. For a regular doctor’s appointment, they’d call a cab or ride a bus.” The couple’s answers were not good enough. The social worker declared, 'Look, because you guys are blind, I don’t feel like you can adequately take care of her.'

Two days later, Mikaela was taken by the Missouri Department of Social Services. For the next 57 days, Erika and Blake were only allowed to see Mikaela two or three times each week for an hour at a time, and only under the supervision of Mikaela’s foster parent.”

A newborn baby’s first days, weeks and months are critical to its development. This family was robbed of so much and it was done in the name of the law, under the guise of “protection”. I hope the parents will make this story public. I hope that measures will be taken to ensure that such a thing will never be repeated. It’s sad indeed, when the state has so much power as to take a baby away from its nursing mother…

Mirela