Florida Mother Arrested For Refusing To Take Her Dehydrated Newborn To Hospital Over Staunch Vegan Beliefs

A young Florida mother's strong vegan beliefs led her to get arrested Tuesday for refusing to take her dehydrated newborn baby to a hospital for treatment, UK MailOnline reported.

Sarah Anne Markham, 23, of Casselberry, was charged with child neglect after she disregarded her pediatrician's directive to have her baby hospitalized since he was suffering from dehydration and losing weight quickly, police said. Instead of heading to Florida Hospital South for treatment, Markham took her baby home.

When police officers tried to enter her house to check up on her, she refused to open the door, eventually forcing them to break into her apartment through the help of a locksmith. Upon being questioned, Markham claimed to be interested in holistic treatment for the baby and wanted to get a second opinion on her child's condition from a "vegan" doctor.

She also denied the baby's condition of suffering from dehydration since the infant was still having bowel movements. According to Click Orlando, Markham admitted to investigators that she had bought an organic soy formula instead of getting the formula provided to her by her child's doctor because she believed the ingredients came from animals.

"When asked if her doctor had confirmed that the plant-based formula was appropriate for her baby, Markham allegedly replied that she knew it was safe because it came from a Whole Food Market," UK MailOnline reported.

Although she eventually relented and told officers that she would take her baby to the hospital because she was being forced to do so, she ended up staying home for the next hour, prompting officers to place her under arrest just after 9 p.m. Tuesday.

Markham was released from jail Wednesday after posting $2,000 bond, but her newborn has been taken to a hospital for treatment and will be placed into state custody.

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