11-Year-Old Girl Dies When Parents Choose Prayer Instead of Medical Care

[marmar]

from AlterNet's PEEK:



11-Year-Old Girl Dies When Parents Choose Prayer Instead of Medical Care

Posted by Richard Blair, The All Spin Zone at 1:37 PM on March 28, 2008.

Should the parents be charged with, at a minimum, child abuse?




It's not a long trip down the road to drive me absolutely insane, but these kind of reports are simply too prevalent in 21st century America:

The mother of an 11-year-old rural Weston girl who died of untreated diabetes says she didn't know her daughter was terminally ill as she prayed for her to get better instead of taking her to the doctor.

Madeline Neumann died Sunday from an undiagnosed and treatable form of diabetes.

Her mother, Leilani Neumann, tells The Associated Press her daughter's condition worsened suddenly, and the parents stayed in prayer, believing she would recover...

I have no problem with the parents of this young lady being religious, or even bringing up their child as such. That's a personal decision that people make when they're raising their kids. In fact, it's quite possible that Madeline was cognizant of her own illness, and due to her faith, thought that her parents were doing the right thing.

However, when a child's medical condition worsens, it is incumbent on the parents to seek appropriate care for the child. Failure to do so is nothing short of child abuse, and in this particular case, the authorities should be investigating such an angle.

A simple trip to a doctor, and a prescription for insulin, would have saved the girl's life. We are not living in an era of witch doctors and the letting of blood to drain evil spirits.

Here's a link to another report that provides even more disturbing details. Should the parents be charged?


http://www.alternet.org/blogs/peek/80641/

[Rabrrrrrr]

1. In their defense, they didn't choose prayer OVER medical attention.

They seriously thought she was going to be okay.

These aren't Christian Scientists or other whacko Christian zealots who refused medical care for their daughter. She had been taken the doctors before for other conditions.

This was a simple (though tragic) lack of judgment in this particular instance that they truly didn't think she had anything life-threatening.

It's easy to blow this up into Jesus Crispy nutjobs watched their kid die because they were sure Gawd Almighty was agonna save her.

That wasn't the reality in this case.

Were they stupid? Yeah, I think they were - they should have had her to a hospital earlier. Were they religiously inept or whack-job insane about it? No, I don't think so. I don't they're criminally negligent, either. This is the kind of wrong, but easily made, decision that parents sometimes make.

[walldude]

4. Bullshit... from the link:

The mother of an 11-year-old rural Weston girl who died of untreated diabetes says she didn't know her daughter was terminally ill as she prayed for her to get better instead of taking her to the doctor.

Madeline Neumann died Sunday from an undiagnosed and treatable form of diabetes.

Her motherNeumann, tells The Associated Press her daughter's condition worsened suddenly, and the parents stayed in prayer, believing she would recover...

Recover? From Diabetes? Either the parents are the stupidest people in the world or they tortured and killed their own child in the name of their god.

[DadOf2LittleAngels]

26. Were the parents aware of diabetes?

Seriously? It is the flu season and while MomOf2LittleAngels rushes the kids in whenever an unmedicated temp or 101+ persist for more than 24 hours not everyone does that..

[pitohui]

5. if they wanted to sell that story they shouldn't have phoned relative to say child was in a coma

er, let's see, call relative and blab, oh yeah, my kid's in a coma and i'm praying for her right now!

and then claim it was a simple misjudgment? guess they didn't realize the other woman would talk about the phone call to a reporter, oopsie

what part of coma is that difficult to understand? they let the kid die and they knew the child was dying and they'd fucked up so bad that they decided to keep praying and keep fucking up

this is negligent homicide and they should be prosecuted, if the facts decribed in the articles are true

[WhollyHeretic]

delete dupe

[WhollyHeretic]

24. "easily made, decision" NO it's not. You are a monster if your child is sick for 30 days

and you don't take them to see a doctor. She also went into a fucking coma.

[BlooInBloo]

46. But,,, but GOD told them not to do everything in their power to help a suffering child...

... the very height of inhumanity. Fuckers.

[walldude]

2. I've been reading about this.. did you know

she was sick for at least a month before she died? Her parents watched her suffer for over 30 days and still never did anything. This was a case of torture, even if the kid was "religious" and thought god would save her, should those kind of judgments be left in the hands of an 11 year old? I think the parents should be charged, minimum with manslaughter, although if it were me I'd charge them with first degree murder. They watched for 30 days. Then, they let her die. Put them in jail before they have more kids to torture.

[rhett o rick]

41. Did they contact their church leader? If so what were they told to do? nm

[pitohui]

3. they should be charged with negligent homicide

i think the way the charge is worded depends on the D.A. but sounds like a clear cut case of negligent manslaughter/negligent homicide to me

[glowing]

6. Sounds to me like we need better education in America.. and we need

Universal Healthcare.. This way, everyone has access to medical care. Did they have insurance?

[Lennon]

7. Girl Dies After Parents Pray for Healing

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=214x167622

[msongs]

8. isn't it better to die and go to heaven than be alive on earth? nt

[historian]

16. i hope you are joking

because if not you are in dire need of a straight jacket

[Rhythm]

35. Missing something?!

:sarcasm: tag perhaps?
Hope so, anyway.

[Somawas]

9. They should not be charged with anything.

They are entitled to both freedom of and free exercise of their religious beliefs, no matter how nutty such beliefs may seem. To suggest that they should be held criminally liable for their exercise of faith is a somewhat crypto-fascist attitude.

[TheFriendlyAnarchist]

10. Yea, except someone died as a result of their belief.

They have their right to religion, but they infringed on the girls right to live. I think that manslaughter or at the very least child abuse would be appropriate. They sat and prayed as they watched their child die.

Or perhaps it was sarcasm? Some days I just can't tell.

[Somawas]

12. Not at all sarcatic.

I read "no law" to mean "no law."

[chixydix]

17. "No law" sounds good to me...that means I can chop off their fucking hands and feet, nu?

:grr:

[Somawas]

25. Only if it otherwise a moral or religious duty.

[RedCappedBandit]

30. Seriously? WTF?

[Lyric]

36. So you honestly think that there should be no laws

that prohibit people from causing death with their religion? The hijackers on 9/11 thought they were fulfilling a religious duty. People who murder gays in the name of God think that they're fulfilling a religious requirement. What about someone who takes the Old Testament advice to kill a disobedient child seriously--you think that should be permitted? Human sacrifice? Murdering abortion providers? Drowning your kids in a bathtub because "God" told you that they were tainted with evil?

All of this is your idea of acceptable? What are you, fucking Torquemada reincarnated or something?

[Somawas]

37. Just a guy who

actually believes that the Constitution means what it says.

[wuushew]

39. But the SCOTUS is the ultimate arbiter of the Constitution

and has not prior to this point agreed with your interpretation of religious freedom.

[mondo joe]

47. Ridiculous. By your interpretation, the First Amendment itself violates the First Amendment,

because it violates the Christian principle by allowing other gods to be worshiped.

The First Amendment has NEVER meant that religion means you don't need to live within secular laws. Laws are made for the government of actions, and while they cannot interfere with mere religious beliefs and opinions, they may with practices.

[Somawas]

48. Not at all.

the First Amendment has jackshit to do with "Christian Principles." It has to do with the proper role of government and conscience. As in, governmen rt needs to leave conscience alone.

[mondo joe]

49. The First Amendment defies the 10 commandments, in and of itself. The fact is laws

exist that run contrary to some religious beliefs. Those beliefs do not entitle anyone to violate the rights of another.

[Somawas]

50. And from that you infer what?

Your mixing of legal concepts with religious ones makes no sense to me.

[mondo joe]

51. Weren't you the person in a dither about "No law abridging" ?

Most laws - any law really - could be inconsistent with someone's religion.

And yet they must live within the law.

[Somawas]

53. I'm sorry

but your logic eludes me.

[pitohui]

11. they are not free to refuse to take a child in a coma to the hospital

sorry what they did was a crime

i don't care what religious horseshit they espouse, when they have a child in a coma and decide to pray (and yack on the telephone with their relatives) rather than taking the child to the emergency room, then they are criminals and need to pay a price

you don't get to kill your kid and say, oops, my colorful religious beliefs made me do it

[Arugula Latte]

19. So I guess murder by massive stupidity is okay, huh?

That should be of great comfort to the child. Oh, wait. She's dead.

[Skittles]

20. uh huh

watch for a lot of wackjob religious defense if THAT is allowed to be :puke:

[mudesi]

21. Wow

I don't know what's wrong with you.

[WhollyHeretic]

23. So if my religious beliefs said it was OK to beat the crap out of my child that would be

fine with you?

[mondo joe]

28. Freedom of Religion is not a free pass to violate the rights of others, nor is it a free

pass to shirks one's legal responsibilities.

[Somawas]

29. So,

"No law abridging" doesn't really mean that?

[mondo joe]

31. Clearly not as you understand it. Every law could potentially abridge some nutjob's religion -

but religion doesn't entitle anyone to violate another's rights.

[gollygee]

45. Your right to practice your religion ends where someone else's right to not practice it begins

so if you want to murder a person to practice your religion, you can't do that because you can't force someone else to give his/her life for your religious practice. That girl had a right to not be forced to practice the religion by dying. One could argue that she had chosen to practice the religion as well, but as a child she wasn't able to give full consent.

[wuushew]

33. Religion is the personal excise of fantasy within exactly one person's mind

Since children by legal definition are not "free" to choose many actions or choices, the foisting of belief upon that minor by theists is just as authoritarian as that you allege by the state.

[LeftHander]

40. religious belief is does not excuse the law....

At minimum these people should be charged with negligent homicide. They knew she was sick. And withheld medical treatment. That constitutes wanton neglect...

The bible says it us okay to beat your wife a stick no bigger than your thumb...? What about that?

[rhett o rick]

43. If they make the choice for themselves, yes I agree. If they choose to stand in front of

a bus, fine, but if they put their child in front of the bus, they are criminally liable. They are free to exercise their religious freedom until it causes harm to others.

[varelse]

13. Yikes

Dale Neumann, himself a former cop stated that he began CPR "as soon as the breath of life left" his daughter's lungs.

Authorities only became aware of the situation when a relative called 911 to seek medical attention for the girl.

"My sister-in-law, she's very religious, she believes in faith instead of doctors ...," the girl's aunt told a sheriff's dispatcher Sunday afternoon in a call from California. "And she called my mother-in-law today ... and she explained to us that she believes her daughter's in a coma now and she's relying on faith."

Whatever charges are pressed, they've already suffered a punishment worse than any that could be imposed by our courts. They'll live with this the rest of their lives... and I would not trade places with either one of them, for all the money in the world. :(

[MissB]

14. There was another case in the news today - a 15 month old died. Antibiotics would've saved her.

http://www.kgw.com/news-local/stories/kgw_032908_news_faith-based_healing.1095feec.html

OREGON CITY, Ore. -- A grand jury indicted an Oregon City couple accused of failing to seek medical treatment for their gravely ill daughter who died this month.

Carl Worthington, 28, and Raylene Worthington, 25, surrendered late Friday to face charges of manslaughter and criminal mistreatment, said Detective Jim Strovink of the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office.

They were held on $250,000 bail each and their first court appearance was scheduled for Monday afternoon.

The couple's daughter, 15-month-old Ava, died at home March 2 from bacterial bronchial pneumonia and infection. A deputy state medical examiner said Ava's medical problems were treatable with antibiotics.

[varelse]

22. Looks like this wasn't an isolated case, either

The Worthingtons belong to Oregon City's Followers of Christ Church. According to church tradition, when members become ill, fellow worshippers pray and anoint them with oil.

Dozens of children have been buried in the parish cemetery over the past 50 years, and a 1998 analysis by The Oregonian newspaper found that many of the deaths could have prevented with medical care.

Disturbing, to say the least :(

[historian]

15. similar case in mass

There was a similar case in mass where an 8 yr old boy was screaming in pain and agony for so long the neighbors finally called the police. The kid was suffering from stomach pains. He was rushed to hospital where he died, He had a blocked small intestine and the operation was relatively simple but he got there too late. The parents, who also decided to pray instead, were sentenced to 10 years for homicide. Stupid dung heads.

[Arugula Latte]

18. No one could have predicted that talking to a non-existent deity wouldn't work.

People can be so frickin' stupid. :grr:

[DadOf2LittleAngels]

27. Yea freedom of religion is a bitch right?

SO well only practice it when those who mock our beliefs approve...

--

FYI I gravely disagree with what the parents did, people need to remember that even the Apostles used physicians. Im pretty sure when Luke and Paul were traveling were one of them to hurt themselves they would have looked to Luke who was a physician for aid..

Faiths which preach that God can not use men (including Doctors) as tools ignore a huge amount of scripture..

--

Reminds me of a joke:

A man lives in an area that is flooding, his neighbor comes to him and says 'were driving out of here get in' and the man says 'no thanks God will save me'

Later a man comes by in a boat taking stranded people to safety and the man says 'no thanks God will save me'

Finally a helicopter is picking people off of roofs and the man says 'no thanks God will save me'

When the man dies he stands before God and says 'why didn't you save me?' and God replies:

I sent a car, a boat, and a helicopter it looked like you didn't want my help..

[PCIntern]

32. Many years ago when I was in dental school,

there was a case at the University wherein a little girl had had a small growth internally under her eyelid. The parents brought her to the Ophthamologist who sent her for a biopsy and it showed a rhabdomyosarcoma. Treatment was to be enucleation of the orbit and some surrounding structures, which would severely disfigure the girl. Parents instead found a quack homeopath who prescribed serial dilutions, and the usual crap. The tumor of course progressed until it was a STALK GROWING OUT OF THE KID'S HEAD ATTACHED TO A BASEBALL SIZED TUMOR - the eye was competely gone.

The parents brought the child in to the hospital when she started to fail and it was too late..she died shortly thereafter.

It was the most tragic thing I have ever witnessed...the parents heard what they wanted to hear and although it was outrageous, if you saw this poor child before and after and the agony of the decision making process, which the parents handled ALL WRONG, as they say, it was just beyond tragic. I won't post the pics here which I still have but suffice it to say that it was horrendous beyond all human comprehension.

This has happened often and is always sad sad sad. We have many such stories over the years which are clinically presented and they are just head-shaking in their extreme anguish.

[blondie58]

34. I believe in the power of prayer but I also believe

that God gave man the intelligence and knowledge to help others through medicine. Poor little girl.

[dembotoz]

38. Prayer is Republican health insurance.

The only "universal coverage" they will ever support.

[rhett o rick]

42. Agree. Shameful. nm

[BlooInBloo]

44. Religion wins again - another life claimed.

[Fumesucker]

52. Apparently these parents never read the parable of the Good Samaritan..

Wherein the Samaritan treats the man injured by robbers, binds his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them and then carries him to an inn and pays the innkeeper to care for him and even promises to return and pay more if the payment is not sufficient.

And the Christ called the Samaritan the "neighbor" of the injured man, as in "love thy neighbor as thyself".