UDPATE, April 28, 2008: Parents in diabetes case charged
The parents of an 11-year-old girl who died of complications from untreated diabetes last month have both been charged with second-degree reckless homicide, according to Marathon County District Attorney Jill Falstad.
...In a statement released at a 1 p.m. news conference, Falstad said the parents' actions meet the standard of the charges.
"Second-degree reckless homicide has two elements," Falstad said. "The first element is that the defendant caused the death of another. The second element is that the defendant caused the death by criminally reckless conduct.
"In this case, that conduct was the failure to seek medical intervention. The failure to seek medical intervention created unreasonable and substantial risk of death or great bodily harm to Kara and the Neumanns were aware of the risk."
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The investigation into the death of Madeline Kara Neumann continues.
WAUSAU, Wis. (AP) -- Police are still reviewing the diabetes death of an 11-year-old rural Weston girl whose parents tried to heal her with prayer instead of taking her to the doctor.
Madeline Neumann died last Sunday of the undiagnosed by treatable condition.
...Everest Metro Police Chief Dan Vergin says he expects to have his investigation done Monday or Tuesday and then send the information to the district attorney.
The chief says he won't make any recommendation on charges, leaving that up to the D.A.
The story of Kara Neumann's came to mind when I read this story about a 15-month-old's death:
A grand jury indicted an Oregon City couple accused of failing to seek medical treatment for their gravely ill daughter who died this month.
Carl Worthington, 28, and Raylene Worthington, 25, surrendered late Friday to face charges of manslaughter and criminal mistreatment, said Detective Jim Strovink of the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office.
They were held on $250,000 bail each and their first court appearance was scheduled for Monday afternoon.
The couple's daughter, 15-month-old Ava, died at home March 2 from bacterial bronchial pneumonia and infection. A deputy state medical examiner said Ava's medical problems were treatable with antibiotics.
The Worthingtons belong to Oregon City's Followers of Christ Church. According to church tradition, when members become ill, fellow worshippers pray and anoint them with oil.
Dozens of children have been buried in the parish cemetery over the past 50 years, and a 1998 analysis by The Oregonian newspaper found that many of the deaths could have prevented with medical care.
The 1999 Oregon Legislature eliminated the state's "spiritual-healing defense" in cases of second-degree manslaughter, first- and second-degree criminal mistreatment and nonpayment of child support. Legislators were prompted by the death of 11-year-old Oregon City boy whose diabetes was left untreated. His parents were members of the Followers of Christ Church.
I think the Oregon Legislature got it right.
Practicing one's religion should not be considered an excuse for endangering the life of another person, especially in the case of a parent neglecting a child.
3 comments:
"failing to seek medical treatment"
I have a real problem with this one. Of course it's a tragedy that shouldn't ever happen, but who gets to decide what medical treatment a child should get? And my biggest problem is this - our medical industry is heavily regulated, but there are no financial safeguards for consumers except those lucky enough to have good insurance are destitute enough to get Medicaid. Even with insurance there are pitfalls which I don't have time to discuss here. In the end the government subsidized insurance (tax breaks for big business) and heavy regulations force medical costs high, while at the same time the "providers" all use the same standard contracts that take away your rights as soon as you sign (I never agree to "binding arbitration") Most of the time when you have a condition, you can't get the doctor to tell you how much it will cost to cure it or how much per month to treat it. It's all a-la-carte and the "providers" can charge whatever they want. Too many people get treatment and don't realize they just agreed to be billed for $80k. And now you can't even get a proper bankruptcy. In the end you lose all your money, can't support your kids, the state takes them away, and your doctor buys a new Porsche.
Good grief.
Oh my...lately this case has evolved into something other than the question of whether or not the Neumanns are criminally responsible for their daughter's death as will be decided at their trial. Alot of people are perceiving the legal implications of this case as an attack on religious faith in general, an attack on prayer specifically, and an intrusion into their right to worship and make faith-based decisions for their families. They are perceiving that in the Neumanns' case their own religious rights are at stake. Alot of these people believe some very strange things. From what I have read so far, which has me worried, some of these people really do equate prayer for recovery from illness or medical condition with the treatment of that illness or condition. They believe that modern medicine is just one way to cure and treat conditions and prayer another, and that both are legitmate. They believe that the right to practice one's religion extends into all areas of life including apparently the making of life-or-death decisions as parents. They are otherwise intelligent, capable and articulate -- they also are strengthened by the belief that they are in the right and that the Constitution is on their side. They appear to be very powerful and well-funded. They are using the Neumann's case to accomplish something. It could mean something for us all in the areas of Social Services / Child Protective Services, medicine, education, etc. We really need to watch out.
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