SAN ANGELO, Texas (ABP) — The state of Texas had no right to remove more than 460 children from their polygamist parents, a state appeals court ruled May 22.
It was unclear if or when the children — some held in Baptist children's homes — would be returned to their parents, who are members of the Fundamentalist Latter Day Saints, or FLDS, church.
A district judge in April ruled in favor of the state of Texas, which seized the children during an April 4 raid on the church's West Texas compound. Thirty-eight FLDS mothers filed suit to have their children returned.
The Texas 3rd District Court of Appeals ruled May 22 that the state failed to prove the children are in immediate danger: “Evidence that children raised in this particular environment may some day have their physical health and safety threatened is not evidence that the danger is imminent enough to warrant invoking the extreme measure of immediate removal prior to full litigation of the issue,” the court's majority wrote.
After the raid, several Baptist churches and agencies were among those asked by the state to help care for the children. Baptist Child and Family Services, an agency affiliated with the Baptist General Convention of Texas, was charged with coordinating care for hundreds of the children.
The appeals court instructed the lower court to vacate its ruling, but did not give instructions for returning the children, according to several news reports. Attorneys for FLDS said they will seek the children's immediate return. The state could appeal the case to the Texas Supreme Court.
Some advocacy groups have expressed concerns that the incident could entice the courts to overstep their bounds and limit the rights of parents in the general public.
Kelly Shackelford, chief counsel at the conservative Liberty Legal Institute, is concerned that a court, focused on protecting children, could grant the state far-reaching powers to take children away from their parents.
And some parents who home-school their children fear they might be among those affected. Tim Lambert, president of the Texas Home School Coalition, said his members have been concerned and have contacted elected officials, fearing the case could weaken their rights to educate their children in their homes.
The Texas Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union said authorities have “not adequately protected the fundamental rights at stake.” The ACLU cited examples such as the separation of parents from children without adequate evidence, as well as court-ordered DNA testing for some children even when their parentage was not in dispute.