11-Year-Old Girl Dies When Parents Choose Prayer Instead of Medical Care

Posted by Richard Blair, The All Spin Zone at 1:37 PM on March 28, 2008.

It's not a long trip down the road to drive me absolutely insane, but these kind of reports are simply too prevalent in 21st century America:

The mother of an 11-year-old rural Weston girl who died of untreated diabetes says she didn't know her daughter was terminally ill as she prayed for her to get better instead of taking her to the doctor.

Madeline Neumann died Sunday from an undiagnosed and treatable form of diabetes.

Her mother, Leilani Neumann, tells The Associated Press her daughter's condition worsened suddenly, and the parents stayed in prayer, believing she would recover...

I have no problem with the parents of this young lady being religious, or even bringing up their child as such. That's a personal decision that people make when they're raising their kids. In fact, it's quite possible that Madeline was cognizant of her own illness, and due to her faith, thought that her parents were doing the right thing.

However, when a child's medical condition worsens, it is incumbent on the parents to seek appropriate care for the child. Failure to do so is nothing short of child abuse, and in this particular case, the authorities should be investigating such an angle.

A simple trip to a doctor, and a prescription for insulin, would have saved the girl's life. We are not living in an era of witch doctors and the letting of blood to drain evil spirits.

Here's a link to another report that provides even more disturbing details. Should the parents be charged?

Richard Blair is the blogmaster of All Spin Zone.