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July 25, 2008 6:47:30 AM CDT

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Hard Choice for Polygamy Moms: Your Cult or Your Kids

Posted May 15, 08 4:30 AM CDT in US 

(Newser) – Mothers from the Yearning for Zion polygamist compound in Texas may have to distance themselves from their religion—or face not getting their children back, the Dallas Morning News reports. Texas officials have prepared a list of goals the women need to work toward to prove they can provide a home free from the risk of child sexual abuse—and the guidelines may be unworkable under the sect's communal living arrangements.

A state official denied religion was being targeted, but said that authorities were concerned about underage girls marrying older men. "This is not about polygamy,” he said. “It is about child sexual abuse." Lawyers for sect members said the guidelines were too general, and that many sect mothers would struggle with life in the outside world. But one added that her clients were willing to do anything to get their kids back.

Source Dallas Morning News

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Members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints chat with reporters on the premises of the Yearning For Zion ranch in Eldorado, Texas.   (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
Members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints prepare to meet with members of the press on the grounds of the Yearning For Zion Ranch near Eldorado, Texas, April 14, 2008.   (AP Photo)
Ruth, 34, a mother of four and a member of the Fundamentalist Church of Christ of Latter Day Saints, recounts her experience of being separated from her children.   (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
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polygamy  • child abuse  • Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints  • Yearning for Zion ranch  • child custody  • polygamists  • Child Protective Services


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