Ari2

I've been following this because it is in my state:

Girl dies of treatable diabetes after parents pick prayer over medicine
AP, March 27, 2008

WESTON, Wis. - Police are investigating an 11-year-old girl’s death from an undiagnosed, treatable form of diabetes after her parents chose to pray for her rather than take her to a doctor.

An autopsy showed Madeline Neumann died Sunday from diabetic ketoacidosis, a condition that left too little insulin in her body, Everest Metro Police Chief Dan Vergin said.

She had probably been ill for about a month, suffering symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, excessive thirst, loss of appetite and weakness, the chief said Wednesday, noting that he expects to complete the investigation by Friday and forward the results to the district attorney.
The girl’s mother, Leilani Neumann, said the family believes in the Bible and that healing comes from God, but she said they do not belong to an organized religion or faith, are not fanatics and have nothing against doctors.

She insisted her youngest child, a wiry girl known to wear her straight brown hair in a ponytail, was in good health until recently.
"We just noticed a tiredness within the past two weeks," she said Wednesday. "And then just the day before and that day (she died), it suddenly just went to a more serious situation. We stayed fast in prayer then. We believed that she would recover. We saw signs that to us, it looked like she was recovering."

Her daughter — who hadn’t seen a doctor since she got some shots as a 3-year-old, according to Vergin — had no fever and there was warmth in her body, she said.

The girl’s father, Dale Neumann, a former police officer, said he started CPR "as soon as the breath of life left" his daughter’s body.

Family members elsewhere called authorities to seek help for the girl.

"My sister-in-law, she’s very religious, she believes in faith instead of doctors ...," the girl’s aunt told a sheriff’s dispatcher Sunday afternoon in a call from California. "And she called my mother-in-law today ... and she explained to us that she believes her daughter’s in a coma now and she’s relying on faith."

The dispatcher got more information from the caller and asked if an ambulance should be sent.

"Please," the woman replied. "I mean, she’s refusing. She’s going to fight it. ... We’ve been trying to get her to take her to the hospital for a week, a few days now."

The aunt called back with more information on the family’s location, emergency logs show. Police and paramedics arrived within minutes and immediately called for an ambulance that took her to a hospital.
But less than an hour after authorities reached the home, Madeline — a bright student who left public school for home schooling this semester — was declared dead

...

Prayer exemption in Wisconsin state law

WESTON -- Many questions have been raised about whether the Madeline Neumann's parents will be blamed for their daughter's death.

The District Attorney's office has yet to receive the full report, but one legal expert says this is a complicated issue.

A UW Madison scholar has recently written a book dealing specifically with prayer as it relates to the law.

Shawn Peters says it's very unlikely that Neumann's parents would be charged with murder, but manslaughter, neglect, and abuse are still on the table.

But he says one state statute makes it very difficult to decide what should be done legally. That's because it contains an exemption referred to as "the treatment through prayer".

Peters says, "It becomes far more complicated when you deal with the interests of children, and literally life or death issues, that's when statutes like this are sort of called into question."

meow_173

Should they be arrested? I think so. Neglegent HOmicide. God does not interviene in every situation. Divine miracles do not happen every day. If my child was dying, and i would want her to live, i'm sure "god" would understand that i would want what was best for my child

__________________
Bacteria is sometimes the only culture some people have.

musicmom

My personal belief is yes they should but then again you are invading their constitutional rights. Although.....that leaves the door open for any parent that has a child to allow that child to get sick and do nothing.
They allow people to not get blood transfusions because of their religious beliefs and they still die and the law does nothing.
No matter, I think the law(state) will pick it up and prosecute for child neglect. They will aruge that the power of prayer works but God also gave us free will and their free will needed to take over.

Do they have any other children? They should serve time without a doubt.

Amber

God gave us doctors and medical knowledge for a reason. For us to put it to use.

Yes, I think they should be held accountable.

__________________
Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail

Ari2

They do have other children, and these kids have been taken away from them. Currently, the DA is trying to decide what charge to bring.

I think they should be charged with negligent homicide (Wisconsin doesn't have a manslaughter charge) and child neglect.

I can't understand these parents. It sounds like the girl suffered for a month before she died. He's a former police officer, so it is likely he received instruction on diabetic emergencies such as DKA. Regardless, the girl had to have been really sick. How can parents do that?

Skyburning

Yes, I didn't even think twice when I read this story. They should have charges brought against them and maybe even have the other children removed from the home. Does anyone know if the girl every said whether or not she wanted to see a doctor?

__________________

Amber

Could she have, and had her request granted? I know they can't say who they'd want to live with during a divorce proceeding at that age. Just curious.

__________________
Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail

Ari2

It would have been hard for her to do so. She was homeschooled, and the family lives in a very rural area. She was 11 and hadn't seen a doctor since she was 3.

But there were several adults who tried to get help. After the child couldn't walk or talk the maternal grandmother urged the mother to take her to help. The mother said she "would be fine and God would heal her". The grandmother than contacted a daughter-in-law in California, who called the police. The police sent an ambulance. Immediately before that, some family friends in the home called 911 and said the girl had stopped breathing. Unfortunately, she was dead by the time the ambulance arrived.

Skyburning

The reason I ask is because if the girl had every made mention of wanting medical attention then the parents should be prosecuted to the fullest extent.

__________________

budnkota

I am curious where we draw the line. I think it's nuts - but people like this TRULY beleive that God will intervene, that enough prayer will solve the problem. I don't know much about how this would come on - perhaps they simply didn't realize how serious it was until it was too late?

I also wonder how insulin (though I'm guessing parents had no idea she was diabetic) works with certain religions... doesn't it come from pigs usually? Maybe I am wrong about that - but if not, there could be major religious implications there.

If a relative tried to just take her to a doctor, they could be looking at a kidnapping charge - and a doc (unless in an ER if deemed life threatening at that time) may not treat her without parental permission.
If you can refuse your child a transfusion or transplant for religious reasons, I would imagine that you could also refuse to seek medical care at all. I don't know how states would be able to say one thing is OK and not another... Either way, that is terribly sad.
(sorry - kind of a rambling post, couldn't organize my thoughts today)