Mom: Husband made me nurse baby, drive

RAVENNA, Ohio--A woman on trial for breast-feeding her baby while driving on the Ohio Turnpike testified Thursday that she nursed behind the wheel because her husband told her to.

Catherine Donkers, 29, said she had stopped at a highway rest stop May 8 to feed her 7-month-old daughter, but realized the baby was still hungry after she got back on the road, headed to Michigan from Pennsylvania.

"I called my husband, and he directed me to continue on, to drive to Michigan and nurse my child in the car. We did not feel we were breaking any law," she said. "I certainly had no intent to harm my child. I never would."

Donkers, who is representing herself on several misdemeanor charges, took the witness stand Thursday in Portage County Municipal Court.

Her husband, Brad Barnhill, asked to stand in for his wife at the trial, but the request was denied. The couple says their religious group requires Barnhill to be responsible for punishing Donkers. He also testified Thursday.

"I directed her to do everything she did that day. ... Under our faith, she obeys me," Barnhill, 46, said during a break.

The couple belong to the First Christian Fellowship for Eternal Sovereignty, which has a history of challenging the government.