In the early hours of October 18, 2025, Dayna Mooney confronted hospital staff at Oklahoma Children’s OU Health to insist on taking her 17-year-old son, Presten, home despite medical objections. Presten, who has chronic myeloid leukemia, had been hospitalized for two weeks under a court order following child protective services intervention. Mooney had been caring for him at home using alternative treatments recommended by an unlicensed practitioner after losing trust in conventional medical care.
Hospital officials cautioned Mooney that discharging Presten was unsafe and warned that removing him could prompt involvement from law enforcement and the Oklahoma Department of Human Services, which oversees Child Protective Services. A judge had previously authorized emergency custody to ensure Presten received medical attention after he had not been seen by the hospital’s oncology team for over a year.
Mooney’s stand quickly attracted support from conservative groups and political figures who framed the case as a matter of parental rights and medical freedom. Mooney, a chairwoman of a local chapter of Moms for Liberty—a national conservative organization advocating for parental control over education—reached out to Roberta Lewis, a friend and fellow Moms for Liberty chapter leader, seeking assistance. Lewis mobilized conservative lawmakers and helped amplify Mooney’s claims of “medical kidnapping.”
Republican officials, including gubernatorial candidates Jake Merrick and Mike Mazzei, publicly backed Mooney. Merrick visited Presten’s hospital room, describing Mooney as being “held prisoner,” while Mazzei encouraged donations to support her cause. Other Republican politicians such as J.J. Humphrey and district attorney candidate Daniel McClure also rallied behind the family, with McClure taking on Mooney’s legal representation.
The case became a flashpoint in Oklahoma politics, highlighting tensions within the state’s Republican majority. State Senator Shane Jett, founder of the ultraconservative Freedom Caucus, emerged as a vocal advocate for Mooney. Jett contended that the state's intervention represented governmental overreach infringing on parental freedom, painting the medical establishment as aligned with a “pharmaceutical industrial complex” that prioritizes profit over family values. Jett made frequent public appearances to update supporters and decried what he characterized as the state’s imposition of liberal ideals on conservative families.
Presten reportedly expressed his opposition to remaining in the hospital, echoing his mother’s stance. Journalistic accounts describe him as distressed and unwilling to continue the treatment being administered. Critics of the state’s involvement included attorney Tom Renz, who warned on his podcast about the risk of “medical kidnapping” for parents under the Minority Adult Health Authorization (MAHA) statute, which allows emergency medical custody in situations involving incapacitated minors.
Tensions culminated roughly a week into the hospital stay, as Senator Jett coordinated a plan to release Presten on a Friday evening when legal interventions would be more difficult. Accompanied by Lewis, Mooney informed hospital staff she intended to withdraw Presten and place him under the care of a private licensed orthopedic surgeon identified by Lewis. Hospital officials indicated they would contact police if necessary, but Mooney and her supporters maintained that seeking a second medical opinion was within her rights as Presten’s mother.
The case has highlighted ongoing debates in Oklahoma over parental rights, medical autonomy, and government authority in child welfare decisions, underscoring broader cultural and political divides within the state.