February 5th, 2013, it was a few weeks before Syble Rossiter’s 13th birthday. She was home this day, spending most her time struggling to breathe between fits of vomiting and bowel discharges, while her family sat there and watched her get worse.  Eventually Syble became so weak that she was no longer able to stand. Even leading up to her final breaths, Syble’s parents did not once pick up the phone to call a doctor, nor did they try to bring her to the hospital… This was because Mr. and Mrs. Rossiter were members of the General Assembly Church of the First born. In this church they did not rely on the power of modern medicine, but rather on faith-healing or healing by prayer. The various religions that practice faith healing believe that disease is just a way of God telling you that you have sinned. In the case of children getting ill with disease or other ailments they say that this is because the parents may have somehow sinned or upset their church’s God. The parents were under the assumption that getting medical attention for Syble would be a sign of “spiritual weakness”, and continued to pray until 12-year-old Syble was not strong enough to breathe anymore. This story begs the question; Do parents have a religious right to refuse lifesaving treatment for their children?   I think not.  If Syble’s parents had decided to bring her to the hospital, she would be celebrating her 17th birthday in a month, and not the 4th anniversary of her death.  There are countless cases of child endangerment, neglect, and manslaughter due to religious beliefs like Syble’s case. This country is known for its religious opportunity for all, but to endanger your child’s life in fear of aggravating your God is ludicrous.  

Religion-Based Medical Neglect was an article/newsletter database composed by the educational charity CHILD (Children’s Healthcare is a Legal Duty, Inc.). CHILD actively fights to protect children from religious and cultural traditions and practices, that puts any child at risk.  This organization has been fighting this neglect for over three decades, being founded in 1983. The most prominent practice that causes a myriad of issues for healthcare workers are the churches that practice faith healing. Currently within the United States, there are more than 20 churches that prohibit the use of modern medicine. Some examples being Jehovah’s Witnesses, and Christian Scientists. The practice of praying instead of seeking medical attention has been detrimental to many, causing approximately 10 children to perish in the United States every year.  

There have been many cases of children being neglected and abused, a large amount of these stories are provided by CHILD’s newsletters, with titles such as Fatal Religious Medical Neglect in Alabama, Oklahoma mom charged in diabetic boy’s death, and Pregnant Christian Scientist Refuses Pre-Natal Care, Delivers Spina Bifida Baby.   These newsletters will be helpful in backing up my main argument as to why faith healing these children should not be a viable choice for treating life threatening illness. As of now, 32 states including Idaho, Oregon, and Washington, allow a religious defense for cases of misdemeanor crimes against children, including endangerment, abuse, and neglect.  Meaning that if your child dies because your church looks down upon modern medicine, they can plead the first amendment providing “freedom of religion”.  Luckily more states are starting to hold these parents accountable for their actions, or lack thereof.

Shane Dixon Kavanaugh is another advocate for child protection from religious neglect, but he was more personal with the article going into grim detail.   He writes of many deaths and injuries that happened to children that could have easily been avoided by simply going to the hospital.  Of the many horrific tales he wrote of, there were a few cases that resonated with me.  One story shows a picture of a baby where a tumor the size of a baseball consumed half of the poor child’s face nearly leaving the baby blind.  The parents allowed the growth to increase to such an immense size without seeking medical expertise.  Fortunately, this was caught before the tumor grew anymore, the baby’s eye was saved and the parents were convicted of criminal mistreatment. The baby was placed into foster care.  The picture of this child would make anyone in their right mind appalled.

A very intriguing article titled Miracle vs. Medicine: When Faith Puts Care at Risk written by a Physician by the name of James Lace.  Dr. Lace told the story of a young asthmatic girl that could barely speak because of how aggressive her asthma was.  For years Dr. Lace, would meet with the same patient and parents for checkups, and every time he would meet with them he would politely ask if the girl would like to be prescribed an inhaler to help her breathe. But the parents continued turned it down repeatedly, until eventually social workers noticed this and stepped in threatening to take the child away and place her in foster care unless the parents accepted the inhaler prescription.  Here is the part of the article that took me by surprise, once the patient turned 18 she wrote a letter to Dr. Lace saying that she was going to stop picking up her inhaler prescription insisting that God wanted her to suffer and that she deserved it… The central theme that Dr. Lace was trying to portray in this article was to address the frustrations of not being able to help someone that needs it, and how to deal with it.  In this article the audience was most likely other doctors practicing medicine, or aspiring doctors. This assumption can be made because Dr. Lace described how to handle patients with parents that deny simple prescriptions that would greatly improve the lives of many children. This article was more about how to help a patient even if it is as simple as praying with them.  I found this a very wise and thoughtful piece of advice that I will definitely use in years to come.

As someone who plans on practicing medicine in the future, I feel as if I may have more interest in this subject than an average college student. The frustrations that have been felt in the medical field due to these faith practices is real, and most health care workers genuinely care about their patient’s well-being.  When they have a patient that is sick, they want to make them feel better, this is their vocation.  This becomes very difficult when trying to help a child with parents who do not support modern medicine. The sources that were selected have all been well written pieces, by well-known sources/authors.  

The third article humbled my opinion on the subject, as before reading it my stance on this issue was very strong in favor of not allowing parents to deny any form of medicine to their child.  Now I understand that there will always be this issue if these churches continue to exist, but I want to make sure more than anything that at least these children grow old enough to where they can make medical decisions on their own. It pains me to think about the children that lost their lives because of an ideology they may have never chosen to be a part of.  As religion is such an important part of so many people’s lives, education regarding the detriment to this way of thinking needs to be broader and more prevalent.  The First Amendment has protected the Churches and  Parishioners and the government cannot intervene. 
