http://www.komotv.com/news/national/17057006.html



I hope the parents are charged, convicted and are given longest possible sentence.

I'm not against "religious healing" or praying for well being, But come on. I can't see a parent being able to watch their child suffer like that without geting her medical help. They may have belived it would work, But when it didn't, Why did they continue to allow her to suffer 'til death? I think they should have looked for other ways to give her a chance after a while... I don't know what kind of punishment should be given, I can see both sides here, But I think it comes down to the welfare of the child over personal belief and they should have to do some time for allowing her to die like that.

If they want to refuse treatment for themselves, fine. What confuses me is the mother's statement that they have nothing against doctors. If they have no problem with doctors, why would you continue to watch your daughter get sicker and sicker for days and not do something about it.

^^^ it seems a contradiction what they are saying ....cant see why they didn't use both , prayer and Dr

These stories are always so sad.... poor little children at the mercy of ignorant parents.

I'd almost think the parents were trying to kill off their child -- then decided to use the "faith healing" to get away with it, by figuring no one would press charges as it'd be an attack against religion.



But I say that only since they said they don't have a problem with doctors, which contradicts. Pray for someone to get better, doesn't happen, if you don't have problems with doctors you'd take them to see one -- not keep on praying for divine assistance.

This reminds me of that story about the guy in the flash flood. As the water approaches, the National Guard comes round with a big truck and helps people out, leaving their possessions behind. One stubborn man says calmly "That's alright...God will save me." Everyone leaves and the man's house begins to flood. A rescue boat comes by, but the man refuses to get in saying that God will save him. Soon the man is on top of his house because of the rising waters, when a helicopter hovers overhead. Still, the man stays put, saying that God will save him.



Not long after, the man drowns. When he gets to heaven, he says to God, "I don't believe it, why didn't you save me?" God replies, "I sent a truck, a boat and a helicopter, what more do you want?".



Praying is all well and good, but maybe sometimes God's answer is to get your ass to a doctor.

well, that was a life lesson for her wasnt it.

that's really sad

Wow. That's unbelievably sad, and I hope other parents do not do this.

That sums up my thoughts, too.

If prayer worked the human species would have been at optimal health during the dark ages. What ignorance of modern medicine. This is child abuse.

It really is child abuse and really sad.

There's similar stories like that one involving the lottery. A guy keeps on praying to win the lottery. More and more number pickings later and he never wins. Finally he breaks down and asks god why -- and he gets the reply "meet me halfway, buy a lottery ticket"

Surely it's illegal to deny a child life-saving medicine? I mean, religion is well and good, and prayer is too, if you actually think that might help, but...

This makes no sense to me.



Although it isn't directly related, this type of attitude reminds of me of when Christians (perhaps other religious groups as well??) say that women should not take birth control because it is going against God's will. If God is able to impregnate a virgin, like they claim, a pill isn't going to stop him.

Unfortunately, they do, and it's not limited to children of pseudo-Christian wackos, either. At the daycare where I'm volunteering in Bolivia, a mother brought her very ill son to us three weeks ago. He was so sick, passing out most of the time, clearly dehydrated and with a myriad of other problems, that the nurse told the mother she must get him to the hospital ASAP. She gave her a recommendation for a specific hospital and a specific doctor. (Mind you, health care for children under 5 in Bolivia is completely subsidized by the federal government, so this woman knew she would not have to fork over a single peso.)



A few days later, we hadn't heard anything from the mother. The nurse called the hospital she'd recommended to ask if the mother had been there. (Health records privacy laws are virtually nil here.) The staff told her yes, the mother had been there, and an examination indicated her son was gravely ill and needed to be admitted to a hospital right away. They recommended she take him to a different hospital because the specialists there were better at caring for her son's condition than they were. So the nurse called this second hospital. They had never even heard of the boy or his mother.



The nurse and the daycare director told me they suspect the mother took her son to a witch doctor after getting her son's diagnosis at the first hospital. The vast majority of the people who move to this city from the remote sections of Bolivia, like this woman, believe in tribal religions that center around animism and witch doctors. If this woman took her son to a witch doctor and did not get any standard medical care for him, then he is most certainly dead by now barring the miracle she was hoping for.



The children services system here is so slow even in provable cases where the parents themselves are beating their children within an inch of their lives. Taking one's child to a witch doctor instead of a hospital wouldn't even raise an eyebrow at children services, even if the child died.

Religion is at fault......that is all.

I don't think religion is at fault in this case. The mother didn't belong to any "extremist" groups that prohibited doctors, didn't even think doctors were against god's will.

Shouldn't you take your ass to a vet?

Religion is just a bunch of stories; people are at fault.

I think that is letting the parents off too easy.



They made conscious choices that clearly put their child at risk. When they had the opportunity to safely and easily save their child, they chose not to. I don't see how you can call this anything other than child abuse and the parents are 100% to blame.

Wow - I'm a bit surprised (and encouraged) that no one has come in yet defending this.

Maybe they know deep down how ridiculous it is

I think so too - however, it seems that doesn't always stop people.

I think that the vast majority of religious people are not like that.



We see a few sensationalized, extreme cases (that are very sad nonetheless) and we sometimes essentialize all religious people to be this way.



I am personally not religious, but I have seen this phenomena take place many times. (terrorism and islamic people, for example)

I agree with you - That's not what I'm saying. But I remember there was a situation similar to this awhile back, and many people out there, and on here defended it in the name of these people's beliefs.

Yeah, I have had those experiences too. People can be freaking crazy sometimes.



Unfortunately, many religions do not encourage healthy questioning or dissent. I have been to churches (that I would say could be considered average) that ask God to remove their doubts (aka not question what this religion is saying) and that these people should be prepared to die for their religion. This can be potentially very dangerous.

To my mind - this may be the fatal flaw within 'organized' religion.

I'm so glad they are being charged