The oft-quoted statistic is that Anamaire is 3 times as heavy and 50% taller than the average child her age. She is two times the average weight of a child her height. She only started walking nine months ago in December of 1999 or Jan. 2000, when she was 2 years, 8 months old. Somehow, it is her weight that getting all the attention, not her height or her late walking.
On Friday, August 25, while she was at Presbyterian Hospital, the
state of New Mexico removed her from the custody of her parents based on
Dr.Monika Mahal's recommendation citing Anamarie's weight.
"They dragged her out of the room kicking and screaming," said Anamarie's
mother, Adela Martinez. "All she's known her whole life is me, Miguel (Adela's
husband), my mother, the family. She was terrified."Until Friday, when
legal papers for a custody hearing were served, no agency or law enforcement
office had charged the family with anything improper in the treatment of
Anamarie, Martinez said. And because doctors don't know why the girl gains
weight so easily, Martinez, Regino and the family's friends are perplexed
over the loss of custody. Fighting back tears outside Presbyterian Hospital,
Martinez said she has begged doctors to refer Anamarie to specialists in
bigger cities —
Phoenix, Denver, Dallas, anywhere. But she has never succeeded.
"They don't know what's going on, and all they can do is remove
her from me, the family — the only people she's ever known. It doesn't
make sense," she said. "Maybe in a bigger city with specialists they can
findout how to deal with this."
Martinez also is puzzled because the family has been dealing with
Anamarie's problems for three years without charges of improper care. "And
now, all of sudden we can't deal with the problem."
| Adela Martinez said: | New Mexico said: | Anamarie has been on the liquid diet since June 10, except for one time when an 8-year-old relative accidentally fed her solid food. | The parents admitted giving their daughter solid foods against medical advice," |
| Anamarie had a test about a month ago that showed the
weight hasn't yet placed unhealthy stress on her heart. |
The obesity is placing such a stress on
Anamarie's heart that her condition is life-threatening. |
| When Anamarie started her special school at the New Mexico University Children's Hospital, Anamarie had just been placed on the liquid diet, and the special ingredients weren't on hand and were on order. Officials at the Children's Psychiatric Hospital, told her to bring solid food for Anamarie until the liquid diet arrived. | "A pulmonary specialist has said Anamarie's weight is harming her heart and lungs, and she will die if she doesn't have a breathing machine, a limited diet and an increased exercise program, |
| The amount of food brought for Anamarie was listed
inaccurately in the legal papers, a fact that easily could be proven,because everything Anamarie eats is carefully tracked. |
"Her life is at risk if she is allowed to return home to parents who are unable and/or unwilling to follow sound medical advice which has proven effective during the child's previous hospitalizations. |
In the interest of "safety" they have shown a reckless disregard for Anamarie's emotional well-being. It is extremely traumatic for a young child to be forcibly sepatated from her parents. Anamarie will have a difficult life because of whatever condition has caused her unusual weight and height. The love of her family is the most important thing for her. The liquid protein diet is dangerous too. Many adults and teenagers have had serious health problems resulting from excessively restrictive diets. The state does not seem to have a long-term plan for Anamarie. Do they think they can keep her on a liquid diet for the rest of her life? Do they think they can control what she eats when she becomes more independent and can obtain food for herself? Have they given any thought about what will happen when she comes of age?
Because the state insists that the case is not about fat, they have not permitted fat activists to testify, except for two credentialed experts, Dr. Dianne Budd,endrocrinologist, and Joanne Ikeda, MA, RD.
Dr. Robert Schwartz, a pediatric endocrinologist at Wake Forest University has been quoted as saying: "Most cases of obesity are caused by overeating and lack of exercise, and not medical conditions.Anamarie is an extreme example of a larger societal problem: 20 percent of children and 50 percent of adults in the United States are overweight. ``If we are going to call one obese child neglect, are we going to call 20 percent of obese children neglected?'' "
I doubt that Anamarie would have been taken if we were were not in the midst of this national hysteria about weight.
The parents haven't been charged with a crime, but the state accused
them of feeding the girl solid food after a doctor recommended a liquid
diet. How many children with other conditions are monitored that closely?
Does the government step in every time a sick child misses a dose of medicine?
How often are children with asthma removed from homes where parents smoke?
Or don't vacuum often enough?
"This is an extremely frightening case," said Leslie Di Maggio, who
chairs the National
Association to Advance Fat Acceptance, which contributed to the family's
legal costs. "Parents
of fat children are ashamed, they feel like it's something they have
done. Now, there is the fear
on top of it that their children can be taken away."
Judge Tommy E. Jewell on Tuesday sept 5. barred the media from a
custody hearing for an overweight 3-year-old girl, saying the court has
"lost control" of the case to intense news coverage. The state and Anamarie
Martinez-Regino's family have agreed to a gag order. Media attorney Martin
Esquivel opposed the decision. On Wednesday, Sept. 6 state Supreme Court,
without comment, turned down the appeal. "Essentially,
the Supreme Court has allowed a blackout on one of the most compelling
abuse and neglect cases in this country," said attorney Martin Esquivel,
who represented The Associated Press, the Albuquerque Journal, The Albuquerque
Tribune, KOAT-TV and KRQE-TV in the appeal.
A lawyer for the state, Diane Garrity, sent a letter to the Supreme Court on Wednesday to put on the record the Department of Children, Youth and Families' objections to the media request to open the hearing to reporters."The Children, Youth and Families Department believes that any shred of confidentiality that remains for this little girl should be preserved and fully supports Judge Jewell's decision to prohibit the media from attending the hearing," Garrity's letter said.
Who is CYFD trying to protect? Martinez and Regino have already appeared on national TV. They are obviously more interested in getting Anamarie back than in protecting their privacy. It is more likely that the state of New Mexico is trying to protect itself. They never imagined that this case would stir up so much controversy. Dan Hill, spokesman for the department, said social workers have been shocked that "there is such an uproar" over the agency's "efforts to protect children." One spokesperson from protective servieces said,"It's hard to work with families that are in New York pursuing the media, who aren't here expressing an interest in visiting with their child." It sounds like they are angry at Martinez and Regino for taking their story to the media. Judge Jewell has not only excuded cameras from the hearing but also print reporters and any other spectators.
On Friday, Sept. 8, Judge Jewell decided Anamarie will remain in state custody. "The court made the determination, under the factors of the statute and rule that I cited, that there was reason to maintain this child in state care," Children's Court Judge Tommy Jewell told reporters Friday. Jewell wouldn't elaborate, but did say that the case is pending and that both sides want to find a way to return Anamarie to her family's care.
Personlly, I think the state wants Martinez and Regino to be more humble and submit to authority. They're in a position where they will have to in order to get their child back. I don't think the court wants them getting too much outside information, or let them make their own decision about what treatment is appropriate for Anamarie. It's about control.
In the absence of an open hearing, there has been a lot of speculation
about the "real reason" Anamarie was taken. Some suspect that she
may be used for medical experimentation, perhaps for the purpose of developing
new weight loss preducts. There is no doubt she is a medical curiosity.
In a setting more controlled than a normal family provides,
her food intake, exeercise and weight could be recorded more accurately
and provide interesting statistics. It seems like the stae
of New Mexico has already written her off as a human being, and is looking
at her as an interesting specimen. They seem completely unconcerned
with the emotional trauma she is undergoing.
On Nov. 10, 2000 Anamarie was returned to her parents custody. A year later, her nother was interviewed by Allen Stedham of the International Size Acceptance Coalition. Although Anamarie was in good physical health, she was still showing signs of emotional trauma. She was having frequent nightmares and was fearful of strangers.
International
Size Acceptance Coalition
holds a "virtual candlelight vigil," as well as listing actual candlelight
vigils.
National Association to Advance Fat
Acceptance
issued this press release
Sacramento, CA, August 30,2000. The National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance (NAAFA) is speaking out against the practice of removing children from their homes simply because they are fat. This issue has recently moved to the fore as the New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department removed Anamarie Martinez-Rodrigo from her home last week. The parents say they lost custody of the 3-year-old girl because they couldn't control her weight.
According to Monika Mahal, the child's physician, Anamarie Martinez-Rodrigo is 3-feet tall and weighs 120 pounds?50 percent taller and three times heavier than the average three-year-old. Monika Mahal advised that the child be removed from the parents custody.
Miguel Regino and Adela Martinez say they have done everything they can for their daughter, including taking her to the doctor and following the doctor's directions implicitly. They are particularly confused about the sudden "life threatening nature" of Anamarie's weight, as tests conducted one month ago showed no undue stress on Anamarie's heart.
Doctors frankly admit that they don't know why Anamarie is large for her age. Some tests have been conducted and many common causes have been ruled out. According to an article recently run in the ABQ Journal, Dr. Moody, who is in practice with Dr. Mahal admits, "I think everyone agrees that she has a slow metabolism and it is felt that she needs a very small number of calories per day. So I think it's hard to say it's overeating in the normal sense of the word." Yet Anamarie has been removed from the only home she knows because her parents can't control her weight.
"I am astonished that there is anyone remaining in the medical community that would stretch the definition of abuse to include obesity, especially with a child," said Registered Dietitian and Psychotherapist, Mary Sue Aberenthy, MA. RD. Children are innately self-regulating regarding eating especially at the younger ages. Have you ever tried to feed a toddler more than they are hungry for? Usually it ends up on the floor or your face, as they will spit it out even with great coaxing. Young children generally know when they are full and stop eating."
NAAFA medical experts also feel that the treatment prescribed by Anamarie's doctors may ultimately make her even larger. "We know for a fact that diets don't work in the long term," said Aberenthy. "Many studies show that diets based on food restriction result in permanent weight loss less than five percent of the time. Furthermore, these restrictions often slow down the metabolism and cause disordered eating habits. The net result is that most people end up larger than they started."
Regardless of the medical facts of the case, removing a child from the home simply because she's fat sets a very frightening legal precedent. "Anamarie, just like other children with physical challenges, needs the united support of her family, friends, doctors, and community, said Sondra Solovay, JD, a legal consultant on weight-related issues and author of the book Tipping the Scales of Justice: Fighting Weight-Based Discrimination. "Instead of supporting the family and diagnosing any problems the little girl may have, the state and doctors are blaming the family for the girl's weight. Legally, the case is outrageous. It is a threat to all the parents of fat children. Custody decisions should always be based on fact, not prejudice. Here the state police have become the food police and a child was removed from a loving home just for being fat."
"Frankly this is very frightening," said NAAFA chairwoman Leslie Di Maggio. I'm fat, and I raised a fat child. It's frightening to think that I could have been charged with abuse and my child could have been taken from me simply because he weighed more than the national average. As chairwoman, I see this as a very important human rights issue for NAAFA. We are going to fight for the rights of these children and their parents. I find it difficult to believe that Anamarie's weight will have as profound an effect on her health as the emotional scars she will bear from being wrenched from her home at such a tender age."
National Coalition for Child Protection
Reform
issued this press release:
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Aug. 29 /PRNewswire/ -- The needless anguish endured by a three-year-old girl wrongfully taken from her parents in New Mexico is a result of "the arrogance of a medical profession which can't admit it doesn't know what to do and a child protection agency whose first instinct is to 'take the child and run'" according to the executive director of a national child advocacy organization.
Three-year-old Anamarie Martinez-Regino girl was dragged, literally kicking and screaming, from her parents because she is grossly overweight. "Doctors admit they don't know what's wrong, so they've fallen back on an all purpose diagnosis: Somehow, it must be the parents' fault," said Richard Wexler, executive director of the National Coalition for Child Protection Reform.
"At this age, many children react to forcible removal from parents as if they've been kidnapped," Wexler said. "And some children assume they must have done something terribly wrong and now they are being punished.
"The real reason this child was taken is that her parents are not wealthy," Wexler said. "Parents with enough money could take their child to specialists in other cities, with or without a referral. In this case, the child's mother says, doctors in New Mexico refused to make such a referral. Parents with enough money also could afford the best legal help. These parents can't."
Even if it turns out the parents are in some way at fault in this case, there are better ways to find that out than by traumatizing the child, Wexler said.
The state could, for example, have a home health aide live with the family for a month and monitor the child's care and diet. "Instead, the State of New Mexico has added enormous emotional trauma to Anamarie's physical problems."
Wexler noted that the head of New Mexico's child welfare agency has said that "your child cannot be removed because (he or she) is too fat or too thin." But in this case, Wexler said, "that's exactly what they've done."
NCCPR is a non-profit organization made up child advocates who have
encountered the child protection system in their professional capacities
and want to make it better serve America's most vulnerable children.
Vivian Doak can be contacted at: [email protected]
brought a petition from the parents of students at La Mesa Elementary
School to family members waiting outside the courtroom.
"We're hoping that they (the court) listen to us because we have been around
them (the family),"
"The parents and children at the school know Anamarie and her grandmother
Margaret Martinez because Anamarie's 8-year-old aunt attends the school,
Burgess said. The petition was topped with a short note that said in Spanish
that the neighbors support the family and have never seen Anamarie eat
anything not allowed in her diet. It also said she has been treated with
special love and care. The signatures of 83 people followed on a few pieces
of notebook paper. "She should be home with her parents and her grandparents,"
Burgess said.
