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girl dies after parents pray for healing instead of seeking medical help
Published March 26, 2008Views: 91
WESTON, Wis. — An 11-year-old girl died after her parents prayed for healing rather than seek medical help for a treatable form of diabetes, police said Tuesday.
Everest Metro Police Chief Dan Vergin said Madeline Neumann died Sunday.
"She got sicker and sicker until she was dead," he said.
Vergin said an autopsy determined the girl died from diabetic ketoacidosis, an ailment that left her with too little insulin in her body, and she had probably been ill for about 30 days, suffering symptoms like nausea, vomiting, excessive thirst, loss of appetite and weakness.
The girl's parents, Dale and Leilani Neumann, attributed the death to "apparently they didn't have enough faith," the police chief said.
They believed the key to healing "was it was better to keep praying. Call more people to help pray," he said.
The mother believes the girl could still be resurrected, the police chief said.
Telephone messages left at the Neumann home by The Associated Press were not immediately returned.
The family does not attend an organized church or participate in an organized religion, Vergin said. "They have a little Bible study of a few people."
The parents told investigators their daughter last saw a doctor when she was 3 to get some shots, Vergin said. The girl had attended public school during the first semester but didn't return for the second semester.
Officers went to the home after one of the girl's relatives in California called police to check on her, Vergin said. She was taken to a hospital where she was pronounced dead.
The relative was fearful the girl was "extremely ill, dire," Vergin said.
The girl has three siblings, ranging in age from 13 to 16, the police chief said.
"They are still in the home," he said. "There is no reason to remove them. There is no abuse or signs of abuse that we can see."
The girl's death remains under investigation and the findings will be forwarded to the district attorney to review for possible charges, the chief said.
The family operates a coffee shop in Weston, which is a suburb of Wausau, Vergin said.
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We already have such a body of laws. They provide for the appointment by a court of a guardian. DSS is also empowered to remove the child from the home. In this situation, the child could be removed from the home, a guardian would be appointed who would then be empowered under law to approve necessary medical treatment, etc.
GOLO member since September 6, 2007
March 27, 2008 1:00 p.m.
Personally, I have a problem with allowing parents to opt out of vaccination requirements for religious reasons as well. My view on it is this: a parent can believe whatever they choose to believe, but that parent must also act in the best medical interest of the child EVEN when doing so contradicts their beliefs. Failing to do so, in my opinion, constitutes abuse, and the well-being of children trumps any freedom of religion concerns that could possibly be presented.
GOLO member since September 6, 2007
March 27, 2008 12:54 p.m.
GOLO member since September 14, 2007
March 27, 2008 10:55 a.m.
I just hate cases like these. I really do!
GOLO member since July 18, 2007
March 27, 2008 10:22 a.m.
GOLO member since February 20, 2008
March 27, 2008 10:19 a.m.
It raises many questions, though, such as parents who live in communes and/or practice religious beliefs that "We" (typical society) deem unnatural or unhealthy. We allow parents to opt out of mandatory vaccines based on religious beliefs. Is that not also neglect?
I guess it just raises a lot of questions about how much 'freedom' a person is allowed until society steps in and says, "ENOUGH!"
Please don't misunderstand me. I feel that what the parents did was criminal neglect and abuse. But when we take away rights in portions (even justifiably), do we then open up the pathways to further restrict rights? As I said, I seriously don't know the answer. That's why I pose the question.
GOLO member since July 18, 2007
March 27, 2008 10:14 a.m.
Nobody will ever be able to present a scenario to me that results in purposefully causing the death of a child, and this includes failing to seek medical attention when the child clearly requires it, that can remotely be justified. In my opinion (and according to law) the well-being of the child takes precedence over any religious concerns that the parent might have.
GOLO member since September 6, 2007
March 26, 2008 8:37 p.m.
March 26, 2008 7:44 p.m.
No one in this country is free under the law to wantonly harm another, least of all a parent with regard to a child. They can believe whatever they choose, but when those beliefs lead them into a scenario where they disregard the law, they have a penalty to pay like any other person.
GOLO member since September 6, 2007
March 26, 2008 7:12 p.m.
No, I certainly don’t. Are we to assume that YOU DO??!!! Might explain a few things.
GOLO member since August 16, 2007
March 26, 2008 5:29 p.m.
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