Lithuania's State Child Rights Protection and Adoption Service has rejected claims that it decided to remove from a family a two-month-old baby who had already died after suffering from a serious illness.
The agency said the decision concerned all children in the family because of suspected neglect, and that the parents only received the formal decision after the baby's death because the service was informed of her death several days later.
The allegations emerged after the story of a family from Ukmergė, northeastern Lithuania, spread on social media. People pointed to the perceived absurdity of ordering the removal of a baby girl who had already died, while others accused the authorities of being too heavy-handed in removing all of the family's children or reacting too late.
According to the family's account, the two-month-old girl, who had been diagnosed with Patau syndrome, died in hospital in Kaunas. The family said they received the child protection service's decision two days after her death.
Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, Lina Baranauskienė, head of the Vilnius County Child Rights Protection Division, expressed her condolences to the family and explained why the decision had been made to remove all of the children living in the household.
She said child protection officers were alerted by medical staff after an exhausted two-month-old baby was admitted to hospital.
"Removing a child from their parents is an extreme measure that is taken only in exceptional circumstances, when parents do not cooperate, refuse assistance, no improvement takes place, and the child continues to face a real threat. In this family's case, a decision was made that it was necessary to ensure the children's safety.
"We made the decision on July 27, but only on July 28 did we learn that the baby had died on Sunday, July 26," she said.
Baranauskienė added that the service would seek ways to improve communication between hospitals and child protection authorities to prevent similar situations in future.
She stressed that while parents' faith, beliefs and values were their own choice, a child's right to appropriate medical treatment and to life must be protected.
"In this particular case, doctors informed us that the baby had been brought to hospital exhausted and in a critical condition. She required urgent medical attention," she said.
According to Baranauskienė, it was not possible to establish a dialogue with the parents, although they were still being invited to cooperate and work with the authorities to find a solution.
She said the decision to remove all the children was based not only on the condition of the baby admitted to hospital, but on the overall circumstances.
"There are additional circumstances which, as I have already mentioned, mean that the children's safety must be ensured. There are concerns about their welfare, emotional security, development and health," she said.
The family had been known to child protection authorities since 2018. The service had previously received several reports, including from medical professionals, concerning inadequate healthcare for the children.
Baranauskienė said the family had previously received support from the Ukmergė Social Services Centre, but had been "difficult to cooperate with" at that time as well.
"If we are still unable to establish any contact with the family in the near future, a decision will be made to remove the children from the family," she said.
She later stressed that the service would not apply to the court to remove the children if an agreement could be reached with the parents.
Baranauskienė also noted that home births are legal in Lithuania and confirmed that the baby had been officially registered and had a birth certificate.
The baby's father, Mintautas, told LRT that his daughter had been born with Patau syndrome, a congenital genetic disorder that prevented her from feeding normally.
He said the parents had fed her using a pipette and sought treatment at Kaunas Clinics after noticing that she was not gaining weight.
"Children with Patau syndrome do not usually live long. Most survive only a couple of months, and very few reach adolescence. It is a genetic disorder. An inability to absorb food properly is very common with this syndrome.
"There are also other symptoms, such as a cleft palate, underdeveloped eyes and an underdeveloped atrium of the heart. Many of these were later confirmed by medical tests," he said.
According to Mintautas, the girl spent the first month of her life at home.
"It was important to us that she lived surrounded by love and had the best quality of life possible, that she experienced our touch and everything that family life could offer, for as long as she could. We are grateful that she had a month to experience that.
"The second month was completely different because we could no longer be with our baby. We could only stroke her; we were not allowed to hold her for long periods or breastfeed her in hospital. Those were very painful moments," he said.
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