Here’s the key phrase in this whole thing: “left the hospital against medical advice.” This was an emergency situation that required transport to a hospital. (Yes, you idiots, it happens that sometimes genuine medical emergencies do come up during the birthing process and any responsible midwife is going to call an ambulance if so). So they had to transport the mom to a hospital in order to get the baby out alive or to keep mom from having a serious complication. Either way, there was a medical problem, and these people decided to leave the hospital against medical advice. To stop a blood draw? We have no idea what was wrong here; did the mom hemorrhage, was the baby not doing well? We have no idea. But THAT was why cops were sent to their house. Because these people were too stupid to ensure either mom or baby was healthy before leaving the hospital. Maybe this is why black women have higher maternal fatality rates. That being said, yes you should have the right to refuse any medical procedure being done on your child against your will. Newborn health screenings are probably the least invasive thing they do to a baby at the hospital though. But this is a little more complicated than that headline lets on.