By MAUREEN DOLAN

Staff Writer

COEUR d’ALENE — A child protection case in Kootenai County is garnering national attention online from followers of Christian, conservative and anti-vaccine websites and social media pages.

The various groups claim a Spirit Lake couple’s newborn was taken from them by child protective services because the mother is disabled, and only after the parents refused vaccinations for the infant.

The incident is alleged to have occurred Wednesday, Nov. 22, at Kootenai Health, two days after Diamond Mehlhoff gave birth to the boy, named Elijah.

Kaila Treto, who contacted The Press by email early Tuesday about the situation, wrote that the baby was taken from Diamond and her husband, Ari Mehlhoff, because of Diamond’s disability, which Treto said is due to “non-progressive cerebral palsy.”

“His parents (whom are married and father is in good health) also refused vaccines, claiming their religious exemption, at which point CPS was called by a member of the staff at Kootenai Health. If that is truly the case, then this appears to be a grave disregard for parental rights as well,” Treto wrote.

It is impossible to confirm why the child was taken from the parents with anyone other than the Mehlhoffs’ supporters, because the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy Rule prohibits health care providers like Kootenai Health from disclosing patient information, and the court file on the case is sealed.

Idaho Department of Health and Welfare spokesman Chris Smith said his agency would also have to refrain from providing any information.

“IDHW cannot comment on specific child protection cases because they are confidential to protect the privacy and security of the families and children involved,” Smith told The Press.

Kootenai Health officials said, in a statement released Tuesday, that hospitals do not make the determination to shelter a child. That decision is made by law enforcement personnel after they evaluate information from multiple sources, including an Idaho Department of Health and Welfare case worker.

“A decision to shelter a child is based on evidence that a child’s health or welfare is at risk due to abuse, neglect, abandonment, or an unstable home environment. A child protection action focused on the child while striving to preserve the privacy and unity of the family is then filed to protect the rights and safety of all involved,” the hospital said.

Details of the case, similar to what Treto wrote to The Press, have been published on multiple websites, including radio host and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones’ Infowars.com.

The concerns of Michael Snyder, a 1st District congressional candidate and Christian conservative blogger, have been published on several websites including charismanews.com, “where faith and politics meet,” thechristianmail.com and various other non-mainstream news aggregator sites.

“All over the nation CPS is stealing children from Christian families that express concerns about the safety of vaccines, but I never expected it to happen in north Idaho,” Snyder wrote. “Actually, a large number of families from all over the country have moved to Idaho in recent years specifically because of the vaccine issue. In Idaho, there is no legal requirement to vaccinate your children, and so no child should ever be taken away because parents do not intend to vaccinate. Unfortunately, that appears to be what happened in this case.”

Members of Mehlhoff’s church, ROC (Rathdrum Outreach Center), a Christian ministry, have also rallied to support the couple.

“When Elijah was taken he wasn’t just taken from his parents, but from us all, his entire family here at the ROC, and we want him back,” wrote Brenden Biggs, the church’s pastor, on his blog, brendenbiggssr.blogspot.com.

The various websites and Facebook pages where the Mehlhoffs’ supporters have posted their thoughts on the couple’s situation have received numerous comments of support from online readers.

But not everyone is convinced the whole story is being told.

“As a nurse in another hospital, something of big concern must be going on,” wrote Pam Farnes Orebaugh, in a Facebook comment.

Orebaugh, according to her Facebook profile, lives in Liberty Lake.

“Usually we cannot get CPS to intervene even where there’s a grave concern for a child’s safety. And moms all the time refuse vaccines and it’s not an issue,” she wrote.

Kootenai Health spokeswoman Kim Anderson told The Press that when new parents choose not to vaccinate their child, the parents sign a declination form that is added to the child’s medical record. No further action is taken, Anderson said.

Biggs did not respond to a request Tuesday from The Press for information. The Mehlhoffs also could not be reached.

A Child Protective Act Shelter Hearing is scheduled for 8 a.m. today in Kootenai County’s First District Magistrate Court.