When faith clashes with medical care

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I hope they at least got charged with child abuse.

They must take some sort of prize right there for valuing bigoted religiosity over real human life. Their own human life, that they created.

That poor child.

(Sigh) No right is absolute. In such cases, the right to one's religion should be questioned.

-Bill, otherwise known as Kraichgauer

Neither of them look like the sharpest knives in the kitchen.
Had their religion not gotten in the way this time surely their combined stupidity would caused other potentially lethal situations to arise for the child.
You just can't cure stupidity.

That happened back in 1977. Depending on the applicable statute of limitation, it may be too late for prosecution.

Also, the woman now advocates against withholding medical treatment on religious grounds, so hopefully she is changing things for the better now.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9izVu_TtAE[/youtube]

^ Funny ^

What would the boy have said had he been in a position to express his wishes? When I am presented with a sixteen year old patient, the patient is involved in the decision making, even if the parents are going to make the final call. When parents and teenage child are in conflict, I may become ethically compelled to take sides.

If he was so thoroughly grounded in his faith that he would have refused medical care, would it have been ethical to treat him? People are entitled to refuse care. They are entitled to do it for thoroughly stupid reasons, and they are entitled not to be gainsayed.

His mother brought him in--too little, too late. She has to live with the consequences of that. But I, for one, won't judge whether or not she acted in good faith at the time. And if she did, then there is nothing further to be said.