I know this is a serious topic, and it sickens me to no end that this child died due to such ignorance…

But your “wouldn’t it ‘of’ been spotted” really bothers me. I’m sorry, I’m a grammar nazi.

The point of all these questions is, if this child that died had been forced by his school to get checked out by a doctor throughout the years of his illness, wouldn’t it of been spotted?

Maybe, maybe not. Doctors rely a lot on what the patient tells them. If the kid was told by his parents not to tell the doctor about any problems, then it’s very possible the doctor could have missed it.

Also, home-schooling is regrettably common among the extremely religious. These poor kids may never have seen a doctor in their lives.

This will accomplish nothing. The parents turned themselves in; there’s no question that they see themselves as martyrs for the faith. Yes, throw the book at them, but go farther – remove all minors; take them away from their parents. Let them know they can’t have them back unless they leave that church and sign pledges to provide them with conventional medical care. Then, monitor them for years. The ones who remain – tell them they can’t have any more kids. Take them away if they have them. Hell, sterilize them. I’m tired of playing softball with these lunatics.

The point of all these questions is, if this child that died had been forced by his school to get checked out by a doctor throughout the years of his illness, wouldn’t it of been spotted?

*shrugs* Don’t shoot me down for any of this, I’m just trying to understand the details of things…

Wow, it’s like we’re living in the 10th century AD all over again. Next thing you know, the Black Death will be making a comeback.

Well, other preventable diseases are certainly making a comeback. Measles is spreading to more and more unvaccinated children in the UK.

There are ample stories of adults who have made these choices, however. Stories of adults who are totally swayed by their faith-healer leaders, and end up dead or seriusly ill because of it. They are sad stories…and were I their friends, I would try to talk them out of it. But, many of us here should be well aware of what it is like to try to talk reason with the faithful. So there are adults who succomb to this…I am betting to a greater degree than children even.

When the stories are reported about children…it is because the child could not make that choice on their own…which takes it outside of the realm of religious freedom and ends up being a case of one person imposing their religious beliefs on another…and ultimately parental neglect for the child’s well-being, at the very least…outright murder sometimes.

I will also add…even if this teenager made the choice knowingly…he was not an adult but a teenager. Any parent of teenagers will tell you…yes, they can be really mature at times…and at other times, not so much. No…a teen who is allowed to follow this course was deprived of his parents over-ruling the stupid decision in favor of sound parental reasoning. I, for one, would tell my kid that I am suspending their religious freedom until they are 18, since they seem to want to kill themselves with it. I would force the medical attention and get a restraining order against any adult leader who planted such a notion in my child’s head. After he got better, I might even make him wear a shirt saying “I am alive today because I quit attending such-and-such church!”

Make no mistake; we still live in the Dark Ages.