Will Grigg?s Liberty Minute

July 25, 2012

Eric and Corissa Mueller were concerned when their newborn daughter Taige developed what appeared to be a serious cold. They took her to an emergency room, just to be safe.

By the time the family reached St. Luke?s Hospital in Boise, the baby?s fever had climbed to 101 degrees. The parents consented to several tests, but balked at the suggestion that Taige undergo a spinal tap and full course of antibiotics, which emergency room doctors had demanded as a precautionary measure against meningitis. 

There was a very small chance that Taige had contracted that fatal disease; the risks of potentially fatal complications from the spinal tap were slightly greater.  When the parents exercised their rights by withholding consent, officials called the police, who seized custody of their infant and held the parents hostage. They were threatened with arrest if they attempted to call another doctor. This invasive and potentially fatal procedure confirmed the mother?s suspicions: Her baby had a cold, from which she soon recovered.

If Taige had died from meningitis, her diligent and conscientious parents would likely face criminal charges. If she had died from complications of the spinal tap and antibiotics, her abductors would have been protected by ?qualified immunity.?

Let us take back the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free