An Epsom [New Hampshire] couple says state social workers seized their newborn baby hours after her birth because of the father's affiliation with an organization that opposes government tyranny.
UPDATE 10/14/10: State returns baby to parents, without explanation
The parents may have had a difficult past, but the issue is that the State documents included the father's political affiliation as harmful to children.
-- From "State takes infant, spurs protest" by Shawne K. Wickham, New Hampshire Sunday News Staff 10/9/10
A baby girl [Cheyenne Irish] was taken into state custody at Concord Hospital by child welfare officials [DCYF] on Thursday, just hours after she was born, according to her parents. And now the parents are at the center of an Internet-fueled fire storm over government intervention and parental rights.
In an affidavit supporting its actions, the DCYF . . . notes [the baby's father, Johnathon] Irish's affiliation with Oath Keepers, which it describes as "a militia," and his purchase of "several different types of weapons including a rifle, handgun and Taser."
Irish said he and the baby's mother, Stephanie Taylor, have been flooded with messages of support and requests for interviews since an interview he did with a self-described "independent journalist" was posted on the oathkeepers.org website. By 5 p.m. yesterday, the audio recording of that interview had gotten more than 17,000 hits on YouTube and sparked a protest outside Concord Hospital.
Irish and Taylor stood at the hospital entrance yesterday, talking with about a half-dozen supporters who were alerted to their case by media and social media reports. Irish wore a "Don't Tread on Me" hat; both were still wearing their hospital wristbands from the baby's birth.
There will be a hearing in the case on Thursday in Rochester Family Court. And Irish said he expects the courtroom will be "packed with a bunch of tea partiers."
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Couple: State took our baby" by Daniel Barrick, Concord Monitor staff 10/9/10
[Protesters] said they were outraged that the affidavit supporting the taking of his newborn mentioned Irish's association with a group called the Oath Keepers. The group's website describes it as an affiliation of current and former military and law enforcement members who promise to resist totalitarian actions by the government.
Irish said that on Thursday, one day after Taylor gave birth to their daughter, a group of police officers and state social workers took her from them. He said he and Taylor did not know where their daughter had been taken.
"She's either in the nursery there or in a foster home," said Taylor, who was on hand with Irish to greet protesters and grant interviews.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
