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| Witchvox Chapter: Wren's Nest News | Chapter Page Views: 54,881,795 |
 Courts Face New Challenge In Faith Healing Cases Author: AP Source: MSNBC Title: COURTS FACE NEW CHALLENGE IN FAITH HEALING CASES Most U.S. states have child abuse laws allowing some religious exemptions for parents who shun medicine for their sick children, but a few recent cases highlight thorny legal issues for parents following less-recognized faiths. Existing laws have gradually accounted for more well-known and established faiths, such as Pentecostalism, Christian Science and Jehovah's Witnesses. But recent cases in the news have judges and child care advocates dealing with parents who claim adherence to lesser-known faiths, such as the Minnesota family following an Internet-based group's American Indian beliefs, and an independent church in the western state of Oregon that has been investigated in the past for the deaths of members' sick children. | |
| Community Thoughts: There are 7 comments posted | Reverse Sort |
| If You Want To Use Faith Treatments... | Jul 4th. at 1:40:58 pm EDT |
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Moonlight Wolf (Bradford, England) - Email Me ...no one should stop you but faith healing and complementary therapy should not replace seeing your doctor, especially is there are kids involved. The state should step in if faith healing and complementary therapies put people's lives at risk or if a child's life is put at risk because the parents shun mainstream medicine. |
| General Statements Drive Me Crazy. | Jul 3rd. at 11:27:42 am EDT |
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Mitarth (Harrisburg, Pennsylvania) - Email Me in the article one of the accused is noted as "Sherman has been accused of being a cult leader whose Universal Life Church is not a legitimate religion. He has denied such charges and says the church is Christian-based and embraces the Bible." Universal Life Church (ULC) ordains people on line for what ever faith they practice. It is not necessarily "Christian-based" It was Christian Founded. The common thread is the adherence to the universal doctrine of religious freedom: Do only that which is right" similar to the Wiccan Reade. Letting a child die does not fall into that doctrine in my eyes. |
| What Challenge? | Jul 3rd. at 12:12:08 am EDT |
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nasionnaich (Stanchfield, Minnesota) - Email Me I have to ask, "What is this so-called challenge?" As far as I am aware, if the proposed treatment has no history of being effective, it should NOT be used at all. And if the proposed treatment has been shown many times over to be the most effective, then it should be the first treatment considered. Refusing proven, effective medical treatment because of "religious beliefs", especially when the treatment refused is the ONLY effective treatment, is not only stupid -- it is a hair's breadth from being criminal. In cases where children need the effective treatment, and it is withheld from them on "religious grounds", it IS criminal. --nasionnaich |
| The Law Can Only Cover So Much..... | Jul 2nd. at 7:24:26 pm EDT |
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bigcat (peoria, Illinois) - Email Me I agree with one poster who states that those old enough can decide for themselves what they want to do with themselves. But where kids are concerned, they are too young to determine such a thing either in or out of a religion. While I agree that forcing is not very good, I also agree that if the parents decide not to accept medical treatments for their own youngsters, they run the risk of real trouble should those children die. And if what the kids have can be spread, they run the risk of trouble should any out break point to negligence on their part, whether it be part of their religious beliefs--or not. Kids should not be included into any religion or belief until they are of age to make up their own minds. |
| In My Opinion It Has Always Been Easy | Jul 2nd. at 4:36:42 pm EDT |
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Shadowbear (Hillsboro, Oregon) - Email Me If you are old enough to vote, enlist in the military or drink, you are old enough to exclude yourself from any medical treatment you wish to. If you are a child your parents may not kill you with their religious beliefs. It is too bad if they believe in not using medicine. Death by refusing medical procedures is not a decision a child can make. If your parents can kill you like that, then they should be able to kill you with a pistol if your behavior does not conform to their religious beliefs either. We don't allow one, why should we allow the other? |
| Never Easy. | Jul 2nd. at 2:32:24 pm EDT |
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Aleyinn (Dundalk, Maryland) - Email Me As long as religion (not faith) is in any way enmeshed in law (and as suggested in this article, such is often completely unavoidable) we will always be facing painful questions like this, often without any reasonable answers. The problem with justice here is that it's not only blind, but also cold. Probably the simplest and most logical legal resolution of these questions is to allow parents, in cases of children under the legal age of consent, to make decisions for themselves, regardless of the potential risk or benefit to the child, with the understanding that if the child dies, they are likely to be investigated for the possibility of negligently contributing to it - which could probably lead to any number of charges from reckless endangerment, to manslaughter, to flat-out murder. While there's several cans of worms there, they're probably already better understood in legal forums ( I would hope) . The problem with that solution is that someone, usually an innocent and unknowing child, would have to die before any legal avenues could be pursued. I think most good people in this world, left and right alike, would agree that this is something to be avoided if at all possible. And that is a problem that law really doesn't have an answer for. Law is by its nature very specific and doesn't have much room to apply wiggly notions like "common sense", which brings in its own range of emotions when religion and/or faith is involved. We'll almost certainly be wrangling with this issue as long as civilisation exists. We can only hope that the fewest number of innocents suffer. |
| I And I Hope The Law | Jul 2nd. at 1:40:49 pm EDT |
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Artio SD (Kimball, South Dakota) - Email Me will ignore the pastors comment about not being a cult because he is Christen. Since when I think of cult I think of Rev. Jim Jones and David Koresh who all said they were Christens. With that being said I don't envy any judge when making a decison between the welfare of a child and relgious freedom. While I belive faith is a personal matter and no matter how crazy the relgion may seem it should be protected by law, I also understand that in cases of child welfare that you might need a clear and concise defintion of relgion to keep nut jobs from hiding behind their relgions tennets in the death of their child. Nope I don't eveny the judges, because I don't know how I would rule in such a case. |
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