For the life of me, I can’t figure out how any parent could let something like this happen:
GLADSTONE, Oregon (AP) — 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.
Tuesday’s death of 16-year-old Neil Beagley, however, may not be a crime because Oregon law allows minors 14 and older to decide for themselves whether to accept medical treatment.
“All of the interviews from last night are that he did in fact refuse treatment,” police Sgt. Lynne Benton said Wednesday. “Unless we can disprove that, charges probably won’t be filed in this case.”
An autopsy Wednesday showed that Beagley died of heart failure caused by a urinary tract blockage.
He probably had a congenital condition that constricted his urinary tract where the bladder empties into the urethra, and the condition of his organs indicates that he had multiple blockages during his life, said Dr. Clifford Nelson, deputy state medical examiner for Clackamas County.
“You just build up so much urea in your bloodstream that it begins to poison your organs, and the heart is particularly susceptible,” Nelson said.
Nelson said a catheter would have saved the boy’s life. If the condition had been dealt with earlier, a urologist could easily have removed the blockage and avoided the kidney damage that came with the repeated illnesses, Nelson said.
Benton said a board member of the Followers of Christ church contacted the authorities after Beagley died at his family’s home. The teen had been sick about a week, and church members and his family had gathered to pray Sunday when his condition worsened, Benton said.
Morally, I don’t see any difference between parents who raise their children to believe nonsense like this, and parents who raise their children to believe that strapping a bomb to your chest is the ticket to paradise.
June 19th, 2008 at 6:05 pm
I can. One major difference would be that the kid blowing himself up is taking the lives of others as well as his own. Not saying that I agree with the approach of faith healing as an only means of medical treatment, but I think there’s a pretty big difference there.
June 19th, 2008 at 6:17 pm
In both cases, the parents have brainwashed the child with a a cult of death
June 19th, 2008 at 9:35 pm
Freedom isn’t always pretty.
June 19th, 2008 at 10:04 pm
Jonathan,
Under what theory of individual liberty do parents have the right to force their children to accept a nonsensical ideology that will lead to a death that can be easily prevented ?
I’m just askin’
June 19th, 2008 at 10:58 pm
Doug,
Parents have a right to raise their kids in whatever world they believe exists… If the government steps in and says “I know better” you have cause to be worried… but you have to risk the consequences of the government being right.
The parents in this case did “brainwash” their child - but you need to take into account that this is what “raising” is.
My sister was cured from meningitis by a similar “faith cure” that was attempted on this teen. Granted, it was after the doctors declared her a lost cause, but the church came in, rubbed some oil on her forehead, and said some prayers, and a miraculous turnaround happened. She survived.
Don’t misunderstand me - I am not a religious person by any means… but am very open minded to religious beliefs… and have my own theories about their origin and effect, intentional or not.
June 20th, 2008 at 2:56 am
So I guess that this girl failed to exhaust her administrative health remedies here in earth before using the faith healing?