Does Freedom of Religion have limits when the well being and health of a child is concerned?
Child’s death may put faith law to test
JESSICA BRUDER and DANA TIMS The Oregonian Staff
The case of a 15-month-old Oregon City girl who died for lack of medical treatment could become the first test of a state law that disallows faith healing at the expense of a child’s life.Ava Worthington died March 2 at home from bacterial bronchial pneumonia and infection, according to Dr. Christopher Young, a deputy state medical examiner. He said both conditions could have been prevented or treated with antibiotics.
The child’s breathing was further compromised by a benign cyst that had never been medically addressed and could have been removed from her neck, Young said.
Factbox:
Faith healers and Oregon law
Saturday, March 22, 2008
1995: Lobbied by the Christian Science Church, legislators introduce a religious defense to Oregon’s homicide statutes, protecting parents who try to heal their children solely with prayer. Parents who could prove to a judge or jury that faith governed their actions became immune from criminal liability, just as others could assert a claim of self-defense or extreme emotional disturbance.
1997: Again at the behest of Christian Scientists, Oregon legislators add religious shields to the state’s first- and second-degree manslaughter statutes.
1998: Citing legal immunities for faith healers, the Clackamas County district attorney declines to prosecute the parents of an 11-year-old diabetic boy who died after the couple withheld medical treatment in favor of prayer. Her decision, which conflicted with the state attorney general’s interpretation of the law, sparked a statewide controversy.
1999: After months of debate, legislators dissolved parents’ legal defense for treating sick children only with prayer. The new law eliminated religious protections in cases of second-degree manslaughter, first- and second-degree criminal mistreatment and nonpayment of child support.
Does the state have the moral right and authority to interceed with a person’s faith when a child is involved?
