2nd Child of Pa. Couple Dies After Parents Refuse Medical Treatment

emzie

emzie

wicked witch of the North
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A couple serving probation for the 2009 death of their toddler after they turned to prayer instead of a doctor could face new charges now that another son has died.

Herbert and Catherine Schaible belong to a fundamentalist Christian church that believes in faith healing. They lost their 8-month-old son, Brandon, last week after he suffered from diarrhea and breathing problems for at least a week, and stopped eating. Four years ago, another son died from bacterial pneumonia.

Prosecutors said Tuesday that a decision on charges will be made after they get the results of an autopsy.
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http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/2nd-child-pa-couple-dies-praying-19020607#.UXck9rWG1Bl

We really give religion too much leeway. How do you walk away from letting your kid die with probation? You say yada-yada-yada-respect-my-religious-beliefs -- and bam, you can't criticize an action of someone with reason, even though it harms more than the person holding the belief.
 
Off the cuff I don't feel like religious freedom covers this.

Otherwise I could make a "murder religion" or a "theft religion."
 
AlpsStranger said:
Off the cuff I don't feel like religious freedom covers this.

Otherwise I could make a "murder religion" or a "theft religion."
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Do you really think a parent who didn't get their deathly ill child medical care because they were playing WoW would walk away with probation / keep custody of subsequent children?
 
Huh? Of course not.

Did you read what I wrote or just assume I was siding with them and respond?
 
Didn't some parents actually go to jail for starving their baby because they spent all their time playing WoW or something?
 
AlpsStranger said:
Huh? Of course not.

Did you read what I wrote or just assume I was siding with them and respond?
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Religious freedom doesn't cover it -- they were convicted of the death of their last kid for this reason. My point was that we treated them differently than equally horrible parents because of religion.
 
This is absurd. And traditionally, freedom of religion has never extended to these kinds of extremes. See polygamy and drug laws which have violated religions in numerous instances. There's another story that follows the ABC link about another couple that did the exact same thing.
 
contre said:
Religious freedom doesn't cover it -- they were convicted of the death of their last kid for this reason. My point was that we treated them differently than equally horrible parents because of religion.
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Ah, fair point. I was the one who misread, so sorry :)

Yeah, it is pretty screwed up. I'm okay with giving religion extra leeway here and there, but when we're talking about something this extreme it is a little hard to justify. This case is over the top crazy, but what if someone allowed their child to die because they didn't believe blood transfusions were acceptable? This is not a hypothetical.
 
AlpsStranger said:
Ah, fair point. I was the one who misread, so sorry :)

Yeah, it is pretty screwed up. I'm okay with giving religion extra leeway here and there, but when we're talking about something this extreme it is a little hard to justify. This case is over the top crazy, but what if someone allowed their child to die because they didn't believe blood transfusions were acceptable? This is not a hypothetical.
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Maybe it's because I'm not religious, but I don't think I can be convinced that you have the right to do something downright irresponsible and harmful to your loved ones because your religion tells you so.
 
Goodfella said:
Maybe it's because I'm not religious, but I don't think I can be convinced that you have the right to do something downright irresponsible and harmful to your loved ones because your religion tells you so.
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Oh, I'm absolutely not religious. Not a single bit. I totally understand where you're coming from. I'm just a overprotective of freedom of conscience.

That said, this goes too far. I don't think people should be allowed to do this to their kids even if their religion demands it.
 
Utterly ridiculous. They should have been charged with murder the first time. You don't get to have religious protection of your practices when you're talking about a minor under your care. You yourself, feel free to pray and die rather than seeking treatment if you have an illness. Your kids? Get them to a damned doctor.
 
To prison with them if they're convicted. You can't let your children die and expect religion to be an excuse.
 
I've already said this in another thread, but.. again, we should be all equals under the law. No exceptions for the religious, for politicians, or the wealthy. Certain exceptions for logical reasons, yes, every once in a while a situation will arise where an exception is warranted, but that should be a very rare exception and not the norm.

What the hell America? What the hell human civilization? These people pretty much murdered their 2 children. They need to be put in prison for life so that they never breed again.
 
How did the other child get pneumonia? Doesn't seem like a disease that stalks First-World children.
 
Pneumonia isn't that uncommon, I mean I've had it before.
 
Joecoolyo said:
Pneumonia isn't that uncommon, I mean I've had it before.
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As have I. Can't remember how unpleasant it was. Don't think it bothered me that much, but I had to go to the hospital all the same.
 
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