As a mother, my heart is breaking for the kids in the Texas polygamist colony who are separated from their mothers.

What do readers think of the Texas authorities' move to separate more than 400 children from their mothers (some kids as young as 5 years old) and transport them to foster care more than 500 miles away? All this is when allegations of underage marriage and abuse are still being investigated.

Don't people think that there is a better way to conduct the investigation while ensuring the safety of the children and maintaining their sense of security, thus minimizing related separation trauma? Perhaps the women and children could have remained on the compound in familiar surroundings under the watchful eye of authorities, and the men could have been detained elsewhere.

Would this extreme action have been taken if their beliefs weren't outside the mainstream?

What do your readers think?