TOPEKA, Kan. - A Muslim soldier and his wife in North Carolina, upset over how their infant son’s body was handled after his death, may join a legal battle in Kansas over whether the military respects religious freedoms.
Pfc. Eli Agee and his wife, Mackenzie, are angry that an autopsy was performed - over their objections - on their son after he died May 3 at his home at Fort Bragg, N.C. The Agees are Muslim and believe an autopsy desecrates the body.
While doctors suspect sudden infant death syndrome, the Army said the autopsy will determine the exact cause of death. An official also said the Army is sensitive to the couple’s religious views.
The Agees have contacted the Military Religious Freedom Foundation about possible legal action. The foundation expects to include their complaint in a pending Kansas lawsuit, and Mackenzie Agee said the couple may file a separate case.
The foundation and an atheist soldier from Fort Riley are suing the Department of Defense in U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Kan., over what they allege is a pattern of the military violating soldiers’ religious liberties. This week, a judge set a May 27 deadline for responses from federal attorneys.
“Our entire family, including our son, has been disrespected and violated on so many levels,” Mackenzie Agee said. “We can’t even begin to verbalize the pain.”
The body of Lachlan Agee was autopsied and returned to his parents so he could be buried within 24 hours of his death, as required by Islam. However, the couple later learned that their son’s vital organs were not included and would be shipped to them later for burial.
Paul Stone, a spokesman for the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, said the family’s religious concerns were known when officials were notified of the death. Because of those concerns, the Army expedited the autopsy, he said.
“We are very aware of the religious aspects involved,” Stone said. “It’s something we take very seriously.”
But he added: “We have to do what we have to do.”
Eli Agee moved his family to North Carolina last fall and is with the 82nd Airborne Division’s combat aviation brigade.
A Fort Bragg spokeswoman said the couple had been contacted by a Muslim chaplain and advised of their rights to file complaints through the inspector general’s office on post.
“The Army shares its grief with Pfc. and Mrs. Agee of the tragic loss of their son, Lachlan,” said Maj. Angela Funaro, a Fort Bragg spokeswoman. “We do not tolerate discrimination in any form, and we regret and understand the family’s displeasure at the handling of Lachlan’s remains.”
The Agees said the post chaplain originally was supportive, as were members of the roughly 55 Muslim families at Fort Bragg. However, phone calls and e-mails now go unanswered over fear of retribution for speaking out about religious freedom, they said.
The chaplain declined to comment Wednesday.
Mikey Weinstein, president of the foundation, said the Army’s disregard for the Agees’ faith is another example of the military’s “pattern and practice” of violation of religious liberties. He said there has been a consistent pattern of anti-Islamic prejudice and bigotry.
The Agees said their son’s death was the latest example of anti-Islamic treatment they have experienced, which includes references to “killing Hajji” during basic training about fighting Islamic terrorists.
“We are facilitating legal representation so that the Agee family may seek swift redress in the courts for the unspeakable tragedy of its youngest child’s death,” Weinstein said.
Mackenzie Agee said that despite being born 13 weeks premature, Lachlan was “really just becoming a person.”
“He was just happy, laughing. He was just starting to try to crawl, hold things in his hand to eat,” she said. “We’re walking zombies. That’s how we feel. We function to take care of the kids, but that’s about all. This is about getting some restitution for my son.”