Murder by prayer: When is enough, enough?

Healing or homicide? The use of prayer to treat sick children by Shawn Doherty in Capital Times, Wisconsin/August 13, 2008 writes: 1901: The clash of religion, law and child welfare begins in America when two children of J. Luther Pierson die after the New York railroad clerk treats their illnesses with prayer. A benchmark ruling finds Pierson guilty of withholding medical care and creates the legal doctrine that parents, whatever their religious beliefs, have a legal duty to provide adequate medical treatment to their children.1944: In Prince v. Massachusetts, a case involving the Jehovah's Witnesses, the U.S. Supreme Court rules that the First Amendment's guarantee of religious liberty does not give parents blanket authority: "Parents may be free to become martyrs themselves. But it does not follow that they are free, in identical circumstances, to make martyrs of their children ..."1967: A Massachusetts court convicts Dorothy Sheriden of involuntary manslaughter after she treats her daughter Lisa's pneumonia with prayer. Sheriden's Christian Scientist Church lobbies successfully to change guidelines for federally funded child protection programs to require states to add religious exemptions to statutes concerning child abuse and neglect. Over the next decades, confusion reigns as more than 40 states -- including Wisconsin -- add religious exemptions to laws while other states repeal them.1980: Natali Joy Mudd, 4, dies in Indiana from a malignant tumor near her eye. Investigators discover smears of blood along the walls of her home where the little girl, blinded by a tumor as big as a second head, leaned and groped her way around. Outrage over this case and nearly three dozen other preventable deaths among children of Faith Assembly church lead to successful criminal prosecutions of parents and ministers, and reform of Indiana's confusing spiritual healing law.1982: Jessica Lybarger, 5 weeks old, dies of pneumonia in Colorado after her father insists that "God is the best help." John Lybarger is charged with criminal child abuse. The third effort to convict Lybarger ends in a mistrial, hung up on Colorado's spiritual healing exemption. The loophole is later repealed.1986: Robyn Twitchell, 2, dies in Massachusetts from a bowel obstruction. Neighbors report hearing screams of pain for days, but the boy's Christian Scientist father, David Twitchell, tells a jury his son's suffering was an illusion. "Pain has no right to exist because God did not authorize it," he says during his trial for manslaughter. The state Supreme Court overturns Twitchell's guilty verdict in part because of the state's spiritual healing exemption, which legislators later repeal.1987: Wisconsin's child abuse laws are amended to include a spiritual healing exemption.1988: Ashley King, 12, dies in Phoenix of untreated bone cancer. A detective finds the girl in bed with a tumor the size of a watermelon on her leg. The state hospitalizes Ashley against the wishes of her Christian Scientist parents. The stench of her decaying flesh fills the ward, and she dies.1991: Measles kills five young members of the Faith Tabernacle church in Philadelphia after parents reject conventional treatment and vaccinations. In an effort to contain a bigger outbreak, health authorities force church members to submit to hundreds of at-home visits. The city's district attorney obtains court orders mandating medical treatment for several sick children and vaccinations for others.1995: Shannon Nixon, 16, dies in Pennsylvania of diabetes, an illness treatable with insulin. "The devil is fighting me hard," the young Faith Tabernacle member says before vomiting, losing consciousness, and falling into a coma. Shannon's parents were on probation for involuntary manslaughter after her brother, Clayton, died of an untreated ear infection. This time, the Nixons are sent to prison for 2 and a half years.1997: Dean Michael Heilman, 22 months old, cuts his foot in his Philadelphia area backyard. His parents, members of Faith Tabernacle, anoint the child with oil and pray. After vomiting, bleeding, and crying for 19 hours, Michael stops breathing in his mother's arms. The toddler lost nearly half his blood and was a hemophiliac. The Heilmans are each sentenced to 17 years of probation for involuntary manslaughter and child endangerment, fined $2,000, and ordered to attend parenting classes and provide medical care to their two remaining children.1998: A study of religion-based medical neglect in the journal Pediatrics documents 172 child fatalities over 20 years among 23 religious denominations in 34 states. Faith Assembly in the Midwest leads, with 64 deaths. The Christian Science Church is second, with 28. The study calls the cases the "tip of the iceberg," since many are never reported. The vast majority of these deaths were avoidable.1998: Bo Philips, 11, dies in Oregon state from diabetes. A detective finds members of the Followers of Christ praying over the dead child, who is underweight and clad in an adult diaper. A local newspaper investigates his case and the deaths of more than 60 other children buried in the Follower's Cemetery since 1955. More than half died before age 1, at least a third died from treatable illnesses, and none of the deaths resulted in charges being filed against parents. Authorities cite exemptions for spiritual healing as one reason why. Oregon reforms the statutes.2001: Amanda Bates, 13, dies in Colorado from complications of diabetes, including gangrene in her buttocks and genitals. Other parents in their Church of the First Born had been prosecuted for medical neglect, but Amanda's parents nevertheless treat their daughter with only prayer and are convicted of child abuse.2003: Terrance "Junior" Cotrell, 4, suffocates in Milwaukee's Faith Assembly church during an exorcism. Minister Ray Hemphill attempts to "release the demons" and lays on top of the boy while Junior's mother prevents the boy from moving. When Hemphill gets off Junior two hours later, the minister is drenched with sweat, and the child is dead. Milwaukee County District Attorney E. Michael McCann charges Hemphill with felony child abuse, fearing the more serious charge of murder won't stick because of spiritual healing protections in Wisconsin state law.2004: Hemphill is sentenced to 30 months in prison and 7 and a half years of probation. He is also temporarily barred from performing exorcisms. Advocates hope the case spurs Wisconsin legislators to reform the spiritual healing exemption to the state's child abuse statute, following the lead of politicians in Massachusetts, Indiana, Colorado, and Oregon. No Wisconsin legislator takes action.2008: On March 2, Ava Worthington, 15 months old, dies of pneumonia and a blood infection in Oregon state. The baby's parents, who belong to the Followers of Christ Church, chose treatment with prayer and not antibiotics. Carl and Raylene Worthington await trial for manslaughter and criminal mistreatment.2008: On March 23, Madeline Kara Neumann, 11, dies of diabetes in her home in Weston, Wis. Parents Dale and Leilani Neumann e-mail a Web site called Unleavened Bread Ministries a desperate request for emergency prayers. When Kara stops breathing, her parents believe she will be resurrected. She is not. The Neumanns are scheduled to be arraigned on Aug. 19 on charges of second-degree reckless homicide. Unleavened Bread Ministries is raising money for their defense. Leilani says on the site that the Heavenly Father will champion their case. Local experts say what might save them instead is the faith healing exemption in Wisconsin's child neglect and abuse statutes.