Article Source: msnbc.com
from:msnbc.comA jury has found a central Wisconsin woman guilty of second-degree reckless homicide for praying instead of rushing her daughter to the doctor.
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I know what I have to say will be unpopular, but here goes.
Do I feel the girl could have been saved ? Yes. Do I feel that something as simple as fluids and insulin should have been given ? Yes. Do I believe the government has the right to intervene when a parent's religious beliefs accept and practice sexual exploitation or torture/physical abuse ? Yes.
Do I feel that the government has the right to dictate to a parent what medical procedures they will employ for their children. No. Parents should have the right to use their judgement for many things with regard to their children including medical treatment, discipline methods (NOT abuse), etc. If we allow the government to start dictating to parents what they can or cannot believe - what they can and can't do, we ARE on a very scary slippery slope to a place I don't think we want to go.
My sister & her husband fed their children health foods, gave them homeopathic medicines and used alternative treatments instead of jumping on the surgery/drug wagon (but still gave meds and went to doctors when necessary), home-schooled their children, did spank their children occasionally, trained the children in their conservative Christian beliefs as was and still is their right to do. Someday, if we allow this government incursion to a parent's right to raise their child as they see fit, the things I just mentioned (which are now allowed and most people would say is not extreme) may very well be attacked as extreme. I grieve for that child but I'm afraid we must safeguard a parent's role as their children's guide in life.
J.E.B.,
parents have the right to raise their children as they see fit. But when a child is endangered through parental action (such as abuse) or, in this case, inaction, the government must step in to protect the child's well-being. A parents beliefs is irrelevant if it endangers the child. In this case, the government should have stepped (if they knew) and the jury's deliberations was correct.
gordy327 - first, thank you for replying as an adult. I've seen some who go for the jugular !
Here's my problem: these parents do not believe in flooding the body with toxins, such as chemotherapy, and therefore do not want that for their son. I don't believe the government has the right to dictate medical procedures ! Next thing you know they'll insist on certain medications because people don't agree with the current president or what society thinks is right. I know I may sound silly to some but how do you think some of the most horrendous things in history has happened ? The governments took over where they had no business. I know some who believe that my belief system, Christianity, is a form of brainwashing and shouldn't be allowed to be "forced" onto children. It may sound extreme now but who knows as time rolls on: there was a time that abortion, infanticide, and assisted suicide were not even considered possible and it is now practiced regularly.
someone needs to step in . A parent with fairy tale beliefs like this woman should never be allowed to raise a child and brainwash them with these idiotic beliefs. This is a case of neglect. its no different than not feeding a hungry child. People need to realize that religions, though they may be helpfull to some people mentally, cannot in any shape or form cure any physical ailments.How many people must die before everyone understands this?
This reminds me of the case of the 13-year old boy with cancer whose parents are refusing chemo treatment based on their beliefs, despite a judge's order. The mom actually kidnapped her own son to keep him from being treated. A persons beliefs end where another's welfare begins.