I can not imagine why any women would agree to live a polygamist lifestyle.

Without question, if a 16 year old girl's parents forced her to marry an adult and then to become pregnant, the state would have reason to get involved in protecting that particular girl and in prosecuting the adult male involved.

That being said, the situation in Texas should be raising red flags for all Americans. (click here for article and here)

There are over 400 children ranging from infants to adolescents who have been taken from their parents- all based on two phone calls from a single young woman who expressed concerns about her own situation. It seems the state of Texas remains unable to locate this woman or determine if she in fact exists. It does not seem that there were allegations about every parent of the children removed from their homes.

It does not seem clear that all of the women were forced to marry against their will, or even that they were all minors at marriage or when their children were born. It does not seem clear that all of the children are being abused, even if in fact some of them are.

The state of Texas has assured the public that it is acting in the best interests of the children. Really...

Many of these children have been subjected to invasive medical exams, questioning about issues they may likely know nothing about, taken from their mother(s) and the only environment they have ever known. There does not seem to be clear evidence that all of these children were being abused by their parents. There can be no doubt the situation the state has created is traumatizing them.

The state asserts how concerned they are that some of the children don't know who their parents are and some seem to think they have multiple mothers. Many children in our society have multiple mothers- there are books in many schools about having "two mommies" and no dad- is it better to have two moms and no dad than it is to have two moms and a dad? Or two dads and no mom versus two dads and a mom. Increasingly homosexual couples are partnering to have children- those kids have two dads and two moms. Does the state of Texas intend to remove these children from their parents? Are spiritual marriages legal marriages in Texas? Is it okay for people in non-marital situations to co-habitate with as many others as they want but those who attempt to contractually provide for their families through marital relationships pose the real problem? What about kids whose parents have been divorced, sometimes repeatedly- are they in jeopardy?

When does the majority culture get to take children away from people whose lifestyles differ, just because?

This is an incredibly messy situation in which there is a bit of clarity- these people were targeted because the state- or at least some people who work for the state- find the religious practices of the sect immoral.

The state has assured citizens that each child will be represented by an attorney. Well- who decides which attorney? Does the attorney represent the child? Attorneys for children are put in a difficult position- they are not generally psychologists trained to evaluate what is in the child's best interest. They are not guardian ad litums, who also make recommendations based on the best interest standard. Attorneys represent their client. If the child is the client, then the attorney, whether they like it or not, should represent what the child wants to the court.

Because there is at least a reasonable chance that many of the attorneys volunteering to represent the children are in fact children's rights attorneys who may have a bias against the polygamist parents, the court should be careful to avoid future charges of attorney malpractice.

Texas authorities are separating children from parents under the guise of ensuring the children feel free to tell the truth. In Minnesota we dealt with a sex abuse scandal in the 1980s that ultimately led to the very public disgrace of the prosecutor involved. Children, scared and away from familiar people did in fact embellish facts. Texas authorities should be very wary of any actions that would prejudice whatever legitimate concerns they may have.

It is hard to believe the State of Texas has not seriously overreached in this situation. Now, to avoid admitting the mistake, the state appears to be digging in its heals.

A polygamist sect is a fairly easy target in that most educated people do not support polygamy. This sect is a group of fringe Christians with few supporters.

I live not far from the city of Minneapolis and as a foster parent know that there are hundreds if not thousands of children born to teenage moms every year. Go to larger cities like Chicago and New York and there are many, many more teenagers in this situation. Many of these young women were impregnated by adult men who abandoned them either before or after the baby was born. Who knows how many young teenagers took the morning after pill or had abortions to address a pregnancy by an adult male. These teenagers are of every race and religion- it is a problem exacerbated by socioeconomics.

Complicate the situation in the inner cities with drugs, gangs, single parents, illiteracy etc.

No one could tell me with a straight face that a baby born to a teen mom who has no support system is any better off, from a health and wellness standpoint, than the children in Texas. In fact, many attorneys could and would argue that the child in the sect is better off.

What would happen if Child Protective Services invaded a part of the city that is not totally unlike the compound in Texas. There may not be a fence around some of the neighborhoods in Minneapolis, but there are clear areas in which everyone knows kids are being harmed. The truth is there are not enough places to put all of the kids who are in fact being abused and neglected. If CPS took over 400 kids into protective custody in one day from a targeted neighborhood, every ACLU chapter in the country would be volunteering to help the parents.

If we really care about the children, we should apply the same standard of removal to all children. In the end, the system targets those it wants to, not always those it needs to.

Again, I think polygamy is wrong and that teenage girls should be preparing for college, not marriage and parenthood.

I think good parents ensure their children have the ability to avail themselves of all that society has to offer.

I also know that what I think should be the ideal is not the standard that CPS can impose on all parents in its efforts to remove children from their parental home.

Texas has taken actions that should be, and will be, heavily scrutinized. Over time, the truth will shake out.

We all should hope that the rights of the parents and children were not usurped on the basis of religious discrimination or personal feelings.

As a person who feels strongly that the state should intervene on behalf of children being abused and neglected more quickly than it often does, I fear that this situation will set back the children's rights movement and discourage other prosecutors from acting on legitimate reports in the future.

If the prosecutor has acted improperly, the sanctions, and the apologies, should be swift and public...