A Seattle-area court denied prosecutors' request for an order to prevent a pregnant woman convicted of starving her infant child from having contact with her newborn, due in less than one month, the Seattle times reported. Brittainy and Samuel Labberton's two children were removed from the couple's custody after their infant was found starving; the mother also had threatened to kill their older child.
Prosecutor Sean O'Donnell told the court that Brittainy Labberton starved her baby because she thought the dangerously underweight child was getting fat. The homeless couple hopes to get their children back as they await the birth of their third.
Typically, courts base such decisions on the best interests of the child, as an Illinois family lawyer also would say.
Injunctions to keep a newborn from his or her mother before the child is born are very rare. Sean O'Donnell tried, albeit unsuccessfully, to convince the judge to grant the order in this case:
"This is a train wreck; we all see it coming."
Brittainy Labberton reportedly did not eat enough to nourish her unborn child and was admitted to a hospital for treatment, according to testimony. The couple was ordered to report the child's birth immediately to state social workers or face a contempt charge.
The couple's second daughter, born in 2008, gained just one pound during her first two months after birth; but the depressed mother told authorities she thought the malnourished infant was becoming "fat." Authorities placed the child into protective custody. The couple was not homeless at the time and allegedly could afford to feed their family.
This unusual case creates difficulties for courts and agencies that typically handle such issues, as University of Washington law professor Mary Fann explained:
"The usual state institutions are looking at each other saying, 'Who has jurisdiction in this case?'"
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Protective Custody (FindLaw's LawBrain)
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Call a Divorce Attorney in Chicago (FindLaw)
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Colleen Hauser, Mother of Minnesota Boy Refusing Chemo, to be Arrested? (FindLaw's Blotter Blog)
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