Infant Taken From Parents To Perform State Mandated Blood Test

Nebraska State law makes it mandatory for parents to have blood tests performed on their newborns. The tests will inform parents if their child has any type of rare disease. When Mary and Josue Anaya decided not to have their son, Joel, tested, based on their religious beliefs, the state took the parenting responsibilities into their own hands. The baby was seizing from the Anayas and put into foster care.

"The fact that they could grab custody apparently by making him a ward of the state, that was beyond my imagination," Mary Anaya said. "They were claiming immediate danger when there was no immediate danger."

Deputies seize baby so state can test blood