An Alabama group is alleging that a young rape victim who chose life for her son experienced another traumatic situation this week when government workers took the newborn away from her.
According to Terri LaPoint, a writer for Health Impact News who witnessed the situation, the 14-year-old girl allegedly was raped by a 19-year-old and became pregnant. The unnamed girl chose life for her son and gave birth to him on Monday in Alabaster, Alabama.
The 14-year-old received several visits from the hospital social worker after her son was born; and on Wednesday, LaPoint said government officials from the state Department of Human Resources came and took away the baby boy.
LaPoint observed that both the young mother and her son were healthy, and neither exhibited signs of abuse. The mother does not have a history of drug or alcohol abuse, LaPoint added. According to the report, the DHR officials told the family that there were “safety concerns,” but they would not say any more.
The report from Health Impact News has not been verified or reported in the mainstream media but, if true, is extremely troubling.
According to the report:
We were told by Jamilia, the hospital social worker, that DHR was notified after the baby’s birth. When grandmother Dee Prince asked why they were called, she was told that this was “protocol.” Months ago, when the mother reported the rape to the police, the police notified DHR, citing policy, because the rape victim was a minor. Jamilia assured us that this was different than the part of DHR that takes children away from parents, and that this was just a procedural thing that they had to be notified of the birth, and that after the DHR social worker stopped by to visit, the family could go home.
… There was no court order, no warrant, and no sign of imminent (or any other) danger, yet hospital social worker Jamilia literally ripped 51 hour-old Braelon from his mother’s arms right after he finished breastfeeding, under the direction of DHR supervisor Ahzshaka Evans, with the approval of 3 Alabaster police officers, led by shift supervisor Officer Edmunson, Detective Raugh, 2 security personnel, and hospital Director of Risk Management/Compliance Ashley Cole-Tyson.
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By all accounts of the nursing and medical staff, the young mother was doing an amazing job of mothering her baby son Braelon. She loves and adores her baby. Even though he was conceived in rape, it is clear that this is HER baby.
Later, the young mother and her twin brother, who both live with their grandparents, also were taken away by government officials, the report states. LaPoint said the young mother was then allowed to see her newborn son. The report is not clear about whether the 14-year-old had her son returned to her or whether she merely was allowed to visit him.
According to the report, the 14-year-old planned to raise her baby with her grandparents, who have custody of her and her siblings.
A hearing is scheduled for Friday.
Juda Myers from the pro-life group Choices4Life, which provides support to women and babies conceived in rape, also was involved in the situation, according to the report. Myers called the 14-year-old a “hero mom” because she made the brave decision to parent her son, despite the trauma and abuse she experienced during his conception.
Rape victims who become pregnant often face societal pressures to have abortions. In 2014, rape victim Analyn Megison wrote for LifeNews how people look at her in horror when they learn that her daughter was conceived in rape. She said they often view her daughter as a product of rape, rather than a valuable human being.
“My basic human rights were violated when I was raped during his violent attack years ago as I plead for my dignity and humanity, but I think that one of the things I am still having to advocate for is the basic human rights of my child, and other innocent children like mine,” Megison wrote. “Not only am I not an object for use by a rapist, but my child is also not to be reduced to a mere product of a violent criminal act simply because of how her conception took place.”
