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WEBVTT ARE YOU READY FOR HIM TO COME HOME? >> FOR TWO MONTHS, NANDHI ASHLEY'S FAMILY HASN'T BEEN WHOLE. HER NEWBORN SON WAS THREE MONTHS PREMATURE. HE'S BEEN IN INTENSIVE CARE SINCE HI BIRTH SEPTEMBER 8. THE NEXT DAY, ASHLEY SAYS A CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES WORKER CAME TO HER HOSPITAL ROO THEY SEND YOUR SON NEEDS A BLOOD TRANSFUSION. >> ASHLEY IS A JEHOVAH'S WITNESS . HER RELIGION OPPOSES BLOOD TRANSFUSIONS. BLOOD IS SACRED. IT SHALL NOT BE SHARED BETWEEN TWO HUMANS. >> DAYS LATER, THE STATE ASKED A JUDGE TO GRANT A PROTECTIV ORDER FOR BABY DEYONTA, CLAIMING HIS MOM WAS NEGLECTING HIS MEDICAL NEEDS. >> I HAVE A FEAR THAT BECAUSE OF MY RELIGIOUS VIEW, IT IS BEING INTERPRETED AS NEGLECT. >> JUVENILE COURT RECORDS ARE SEALED. ASHLEY SAYS THE JUDGE LEFT DEYONTA IN HER CUSTODY, BU GRANTED THE STATE CONTROL OF HIS MEDICAL DECISIONS. LAST WEEK, THE BABY'S DOCT WROTE, "MAMA WILL ONLY CONSENT WHEN HIS CONDITION IS IMMEDIATELY LIFE THREATENING AND HE IS DYING. WAITING FOR IMMINENT DEATH IS NOT ACCEPTABLE. RISKS UNACCEPTABLE BRAIN AND OTHER ORGAN DAMAGE." THE STATE APPROVED A BLOOD TRANSFUSION. >> IT WAS HORRIFYING. IT WAS HORRIFYING. >> ASHLEY SAYS AFTER THE TRANSFUSION, DEYONTA TOOK A TURN FOR THE WORSE. >> I GOT PHONE CALLS SAYING THAT HE HAD TURNED BLUE A COUPLE OF TIMES. >> AND TWO DAYS AFTER THE TRANSFUSION, SHE SAYS DEYONTA DEVELOPED AN INFECTION. >> ALL I AM HEARING FROM DOCTORS AND NURSES IS I'M SORRY. WE DON'T KNOW WHAT HAPPENED. >> IT APPEARS IT IS GOING TO REQUIRE A TRIAL OR A HEARING. >> 12 NEWS CAMERAS WERE NOT ALLOWED INSIDE, BUT ASHLEY SAYS, THE JUDGE DENIED THE STATE'S REQUEST FOR CUSTODY BUT LEFT THE , BABY'S MEDICAL DECISIONS IN THE STATE'S HANDS. >> I WAS OUSTED BY THE JUDGE IS YOUR SON NEEDED THIS BLOOD TRANSFUSION, WOULD YOU SAY YES? I IMMEDIATELY TOLD HER YES, BUT WHAT I AM NOT AGREEING WITH IS GIVING MY SON SOMETHING THAT IS NOT NEEDED. >> ASHLEY NOW FEARS THE STATE WILL APPROVE ANOTHER TRANSFUSION. >> I WANT MY SON TO LIVE, BUT I DON'T ONE HIS FIGHTING BEING POLLUTED WITH ANYTHING THAT IS NOT NECESSARY TO SUSTAIN HIS LIFE. >> CONFIDENTIALITY LAWS KEEP THE STATE FROM COMMENTING, BUT ITS COURT FILING SAY IT CONSIDERS ITS EFFORTS TO BE LIFESAVING INTERVENTIONS. JOYCE: HOW IS THE BABY DOING? >> DEYONTA IS NOW TWO MONTHS OLD . HE'S STILL IN THE NICU AT CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL.

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In an unusual custody battle playing out in Milwaukee, a mother is fighting to direct her baby's health care, but the state argues her religious beliefs are putting her infant at risk. Nhandi Ashley's son Deyanta was three months premature and has been in intensive care since his birth Sept. 8. The day after his birth, Ashley said a child protective services worker came to her hospital room and informed her that her son needed a blood transfusion. Ashley is a Jehovah's Witness. Her religion opposes blood transfusions. "Blood is very sacred and it shouldn't be transmitted back and forth and shared between two humans," she said. Days later, the state asked a judge to grant a protective order for baby Deyanta, claiming his mom was neglecting his medical needs. "I just have a fear that because of my religious views, it's being interpreted as neglect," she said. Juvenile court records are sealed. Ashley said the judge left Deyanta in her custody but granted the state control of his medical decisions. Last week, the baby's doctor wrote that Ashley "...will only consent when his condition is immediately life threatening and he is dying. Waiting for imminent death is not acceptable... (it) risks unacceptable brain and other organ damage." The state approved a blood transfusion. Ashley said Deyanta took a turn for the worse after the procedure. "It was horrifying," she said. "I got calls saying my son turned blue a few times. They had to bag him, meaning disconnect the machine from his breathing tube, and hand suction the bag, including pump on his chest," she said. Two days after the transfusion, she said Deyanta developed an infection. "All I'm hearing from doctors and nurses is, 'I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. We don't know what happened,'" she said. Ashley was ordered to Children's Court on Monday. The state asked the judge to grant temporary custody of Deyanta. Ashley said the judge denied the state's request for custody but left the baby's medical decisions in the state's hands. "I was asked by the judge, 'If your son was presented with a life or death situation where he needed this blood transfusion, would you say yes?' and I immediately told her, 'Yes.'" said Ashley. "But what I am not agreeing with is giving my son something that is not needed." Ashley now fears the state will approve another transfusion. "It did more harm than good, and I have a fear that consent is going to be given for another procedure that isn't needed for my son and he's going to end up dying," she said. Confidentiality laws keep the state from commenting, but its court filing said it considers its efforts to be lifesaving interventions. Deyanta is now two months old. He's still in intensive care at Children's Hospital, and he's nearly doubled his two-and-a-half pound birth weight. But his mom says he's still on antibiotics for the infection he got after transfusion. She's hoping he's well enough to come home by the first of the year.