Religious Abuse

There was an interesting court case here in Portland, just ended with a guilty verdict and sentencing of 90 days jail time, probation and extensive counseling and observation on parenting and puts them on probation for three years with extensive parental skill counseling. The parents who were convicted, Timothy and Rebecca Weyland, were found guilty of child abuse and neglect after their daughter Alayna, now 18 months old, has an abnormal growth of blood vessels, known as a hemangioma. As part of the judge's sentence the Wylands must follow all medical recommendations, take Alayna to doctor's appointments and notify probation officers when spiritual healing methods are used on Alayna.

Shortly after birth, the hemangioma grew and engulfed her left eye. Instead of seeking treatment that would have cured the malady and prevented the baby's eyesight from being lost, the Weylands only "prayed" for her health. Doctors say that because of the Wyland "do nothing but pray" policy, Alayna is extremely unlikely to regain normal vision.

At the verdict the judge told the Wylands what should be common sense , but among some religious fanatics is not. "Your prayers should complement not compete with proper medical care." The case brings to mind that issue. At what point does personal religious belief become secondary to the safety and welfare of the child for which a parent is entrusted to care?

Those who think the Weylands had the right to seek whatever kind of cure they thought best for their daughter's illness think the verdict interferes with the constitutional rights of the parents, that religious rights take precedence in choice of medical treatments of a child. Opponents say that freedom is not unlimited. It comes with responsibility and that includes the protection of others from harm our freedom might cause, as in the necessity of quickly treating a child's medical problem, give the minor child can not seek that on his or her own.

A sub issue is how and when should the government of a nation can limit injurious conduct that emanates from adherence to a religious belief. Misguided behavior often stems from religious extremism, as in the case of the faith healing belief of the Weylands. But aside from that, one "religious" fact is clear from the Weyland case. God gave the Weylands brains. It's a tragedy that they didn't use them.