It seems like all I’ve been seeing is terrible legislative news the past few weeks. It’s so nice to see an elected body, somewhere, actually doing something good for a change:
The Oregon House approved a bill Thursday that would remove legal protection for parents who choose faith healing over medical intervention when treating their children.
The bill passed unanimously, though two Republican representatives raised concerns that the legislation was taking the issue away from juries and sending the state down a slippery slope.
The legislation comes in response to an Oregon City church, the Followers of Christ, that has a long history of child deaths even though the conditions from which the children died were medically treatable.
Currently, spiritual treatment can be used as a defense against some* homicide charges. The bill would eliminate that defense and subject parents who chose faith healing over medical treatment at the expense of their child’s life to mandatory sentencing under Measure 11.
Faith healing has been one of the shining examples of how we give undue respect to religion. These abhorrent laws have taken the protections already granted by the constitution and twisted them into legal defenses for neglectful parents. I am absolutely ecstatic to see them get thrown away in Oregon.
Twenty-nine states to go.
Filed under: News | Tagged: 29 states to go, Faith healing, Oregon |
For the Sake of Science 
I agree to a point about taking power away from juries. I think each case should really be weighed by a jury and the decision made by them. As long as they aren’t taking the ability to refuse medical treatment away from adults, I couldn’t care less.
I would have thought you would be against mandatory sentencing.
While I do want to see these neglectful parents actually receive real sentences as a means of deterrence, I am.