MOTHER WHO SEEKS ALTERNATIVE TREATMENT FOR BABY, LOSES CUSTODY AND COURT BATTLE TO PREVENT SON'S SURGERY

Parents rights are overshadowed by doctor’s opinion

Mother is arrested for kidnapping

June 29, 2006
 
By KOMO Staff & News Services

TACOMA - A judge refused on Friday to grant a mother's request to block surgery she opposes on her baby son.

Tears rolled down the cheeks of Tina Carlsen, 34, of Sumner, after she heard the decision of Pierce County Superior Court Judge John McCarthy.

Carlsen had wanted more time to pursue alternative natural treatments for 9-month-old Riley. The boy is in state custody because doctors say he needs surgery for kidney treatment.

Carlsen will be allowed a two-hour visit with her son after the surgery.

"We believe it is important for Riley to have time with his mother and for the mother to have time with her son," DSHS spokeswoman Kathy Spears said in a statement.

The court hearing Friday morning was prompted by a call from a group called Citizens for Safe Birth, which asked for an emergency injunction to stop the surgery while a full hearing can be conducted.

The case is at the center of a storm over parents' rights, medical choice, and when the state can take over.

Carlsen was released from jail Thursday after spending six days there for allegedly kidnapping her son. She was freed on bail Thursday after a hearing in King County Superior Court and is awaiting trial on a charge of second-degree domestic violence kidnapping. She could face up to a year in jail if convicted. But prosecutors agreed to drop her bail from $500,000 to nothing, as long as she stays away from her son -- a son Carlsen clearly dotes over.

"Riley is the most awesome kid you've ever seen on the face of this Earth," she said. "He smiles from ear to ear, he will light up a room."

Riley was born with small kidneys. Doctors at Children's Hospital said he needed surgery to go on dialysis, and would eventually need a kidney transplant.

Carlsen says her "mother's instinct" didn't buy it; she favors a more natural approach.

"It made my gut wrench when they were telling me things and it just felt wrong, that's when I started on my mad search for information," she said.

But the state took control and ordered the surgery; and Carlsen allegedly kidnapped Riley from Children's Hospital.

It prompted a statewide Amber Alert, where police said Riley would die without the surgery. Children's later said Riley was not in imminent danger, but that his condition could go downhill rapidly.

Police caught up with the pair Saturday. Carlsen went to jail, while Riley went back to the hospital.

In the meantime, Carlsen received an outpouring of support.

"And I think there are other mothers out there who are thinking the same thing," says Debra O'Conner, "how can anyone step in and tell us what we're going to do with our children's healthcare?"

Carlsen says she took off with Riley because she was afraid, but she says she's not afraid any more with the support so many have offered.

She says people understand. "Mother to a mother, we all know, it's the she-bear kind of instinct."

Citizens for Safe Birth are advocating on behalf of Carlsen and have set up a legal defense fund and a Web site. The address is www.helpbabyriley.com