Sick baby's mother gets bail, father held
September 16, 2008
Isabel Teotonio
STAFF REPORTER
A week ago, a 22-year-old mother was concerned about her 9-month-old son, fearful his inability to gain weight was the result of a severe allergy and worried about his skin, which had turned bright red from eczema.
The woman, who is a vegan and believes in a holistic approach to health, had taken the baby to a naturopath, to little avail. So, she took him to the hospital.
Today, the mother is out on bail amid media reports that she refused treatment for her child because of religious beliefs. The boy's father is in jail and yesterday accused officials of acting illegally and trying to "break apart" his family. And the 11-pound baby, diagnosed as severely malnourished, is in the care of the Children's Aid Society.
"We're very happy to have (her) back with us," a cousin at the College Park courthouse said yesterday after the mother's release on $2,500 bail. However, the ordeal has "not ended," he said.
The unusual case began Wednesday when the mother took the baby to the Hospital for Sick Children, but refused treatment and fled, prompting police to issue a rare public alert for the pair. The search, which got widespread media attention, sent the parents into hiding.
The unmarried couple resurfaced Sunday when they returned to Sick Kids, but again refused treatment for the baby, whose normal weight should be about 20 pounds.
Officials with CAS were called, along with police, who forcibly removed the baby after a tense two-hour standoff. It ended in the arrests of the parents and a female friend who was with them.
All three were in court yesterday, charged with obstructing police. The 36-year-old father appeared only briefly because his hearing was rescheduled for tomorrow. A publication ban prohibits reporting on the evidence heard in court, including the baby's medical status. Police have said his condition is not life-threatening. The parents cannot be named to shield the baby and his 2-year-old brother, also in the care of CAS.
As he was led away, the angry father yelled, "It's illegal ... What they're doing is forcing me to stay in here. They're trying to break apart my family."
Yesterday, the couple's friends said suggestions they refused treatment on religious grounds were inaccurate.
"It's not like (she) neglected the baby for nine months ... She's been trying to get help," said Kudjo Adwo Sut Tekh El, the grand sheik of the Moorish Science Temple of America, an obscure religious sect with about 30 members in Toronto.
The Islamic-based group espouses vegetarianism, home schooling, a holistic lifestyle and reconnecting with African roots, but does not oppose treatment in hospitals, said the grand sheik, adding the mother originally fled Sick Kids because she feared her baby would be taken from her.
Another member described the mother as "attentive, very affectionate" and said that, to some extent, everyone is malnourished. But she characterized the baby as having "the head of a 9-month-old and body of a 2-month-old" and conceded his weight was "odd."
Bail conditions imposed on the mother, who was raised a Christian Methodist, include having no contact with the co-accused or with her children except in the presence of CAS or with the court's permission. She's also not to go within 500 metres of Sick Kids.
Toronto Star
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