Posted: 1:16 PM- The American Civil Liberties Union has weighed in on the raid on a polygamous sect's ranch in Texas, saying that the men, women and children of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints have fundamental rights that may have been compromised.
    The ACLU said that while Texas authorities have the obligation to protect children from physical or sexual harm, the April 3 raid raised questions about the state's actions regarding the sect's right to freedom of religion and due process of law.
    "Based upon news reports and other available information, the ACLU has serious concerns that the state's actions so far have not adequately protected the fundamental rights at stake," the national organization said in a May 2 posting on its web site.
    The ACLU noted that the raid on the Yearning For Zion ranch was "prompted by a single allegation of abuse now reported most likely to have been made by someone who never resided at YFZ." Even so, parents have been separated from more than 460 children, have been placed in state custody in shelters throughout Texas, "without individual, adversarial hearings and without particularized evidence that they ever engaged in abuse or were likely to engage in abuse."
    The ACLU also questions the court-ordered DNA
Advertisement

testing of every child and asserts that parents "have been pressured to consent to DNA testing if they wish to be reunited with their children who were forcibly separated from them.
    "State officials have an important obligation to protect children against abuse. However, such actions should not be indiscriminately targeted against a group as a whole - particularly when the group is perceived as being different or unusual. Actions should be based on concrete evidence of harm and not based upon prejudice against religious or other communities," the ACLU said.
    "Under these circumstances, it is essential for Texas officials to provide fair judicial proceedings that respect the constitutional rights of all involved - children, parents, and religious communities - while ensuring at the same time that children are protected against abuse where there is credible evidence of such abuse."
    The ACLU said it will "work to ensure that Texas officials act in a manner that is consistent with the important principles set forth above, including making our views known to the Texas courts at appropriate points in the judicial proceedings."