See this article:
http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/06/19/fai ... index.html
Authorities say a teenager from a faith-healing family died from an illness that could have been easily treated, just a few months after a toddler cousin of his died in a case that has led to criminal charges.
But parents should have the right to teach their kids about folk magic and hell and whatever other nonsense they choose, shouldn't they?
Nelson said a catheter would have saved the boy's life.
I guess Jesus isn't as powerful as a plastic tube jammed down your pee-hole.
But parents certainly have the right to tell them Jesus can heal urinary tract blockages, don't they?
In March, the boy's 15-month-old cousin Ava Worthington died at home from bronchial pneumonia and a blood infection.
Her parents, Carl and Raylene Worthington, also belong to the church. They have pleaded not guilty to manslaughter and criminal mistreatment, and their defense attorneys have indicated that they will use a religious freedom defense.
After earlier deaths involving children of Followers of Christ believers, a 1999 Oregon law struck down religious shields for parents who treat their children solely with prayer. No one had been prosecuted under it until the Worthingtons' case.
Anyone want to argue for the freedom that this poor kid's parents were exercising?