Reply #36: It's dishonest to say nobody does anything to prevent such incidents

[struggle4progress]

There's significant social pressure against such approaches: in Pennsylvania (for example), religious belief is not a defense against a charge of medical neglect, as indicated by the case here

But the relatively few people, who hold the "prayer instead of medical treatment" view, tend to operate somewhat invisibly: the social networks involved appear to be small and rather closed. When the authorities intervened twenty years ago in a measles epidemic, they actually had trouble locating the First Century Gospel Church school because it was not listed in any directory. And it is frequently unclear exactly what views people actually hold: the attorneys in the present case claim the Schaibles would have sought medical care for Kent had they known how sick he was, which might be plausible since both parents have only a ninth-grade education -- and that from the First Century Gospel Church school where both have worked as teachers. An assistant DA told the judge in this case the child could have been saved by (say) Tylenol: that might be true -- but it is also possible that these parents simply wouldn't have enough education to administer such a medication safely, even if provided with directions from a competent physician, or to recognize problems arising from Tylenol misuse and to seek further medical advice in that event

So it's not immediately clear to me how further to reduce childhood mortality due to parents who prefer faith-healing to ordinary medical treatment. Again, if you have any ideas, let's hear them



... The churches, the Faith Tabernacle Congregation and the First Century Gospel Church, each run their own schools, which together have about 350 students who have never been inoculated against measles or other diseases ... The concerns of health officials took on new urgency on Thursday night when they learned of the death of a 5-year-old girl whose family belonged to the First Century Gospel Church in Northeast Philadelphia ... Health officials say they believe the school is unlicensed and has about 150 students. The officials said they had been unable to find the school, an unmarked beige brick building in a working class German and Irish neighborhood, until late Thursday night because it was not listed in any directory ...
Measles and Faith Combine In 5 Deaths in Philadelphia
By TAMAR LEWIN, Special to The New York Times
Published: February 16, 1991
http://www.nytimes.com/1991/02/16/us/measles-and-faith-...

... First Century Pastor Clark .. said .... The Schaibles .. are now being "persecuted" for not seeking help from a flawed and dangerous medical system. "The leading cause for death to this day - documented in a book called 'Death by Medicine' - is medical mistakes: 783,229 deaths per year" .... Assistant District Attorney Joanne Pescatore told the judge at the .. October 2009 preliminary hearing that Kent .. could have been saved by antibiotics or Tylenol .... The Schaibles' attorneys maintain .... the Schaibles would have sought medical care for Kent had they known how sick he was ...
Posted on Tue, Dec. 7, 2010
First, do no harm: Prayer or medicine?
By MENSAH M. DEAN
Philadelphia Daily News
[e-mail] 215-854-5949
http://www.philly.com/dailynews/local/20101207_First__d...

... Herbert Schaible, 42, teaches at a school affiliated with their church, First Century Gospel Church. His wife, 41, previously taught there, but now stays at home with the couple's children, from an infant to teenagers. The Schaibles grew up in the church and have never received medical care themselves, not counting the help of the 84-year-old lay midwife who attends home births, according to pastor Nelson A. Clark. Clark, 69, knew the couple as children and described them as honors students who dropped out of the church school in ninth grade, a year shy of the school's 10th grade graduation. Catherine Schaible did so at age 16 to begin teaching younger students, he said ...
Pa. couple who only prayed for dying tot convicted
(AP) – 2 days ago
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jzJhH...

... In North America, acetaminophen is sold in generic form or under a number of trade names: for instance "Tylenol" ... Acetaminophen has a narrow therapeutic index. This means that the common dose is close to the overdose, making it a relatively dangerous substance ...
Acetaminophen
http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Acetaminophen

The FDA is looking into several hundred allegations of serious side effects, including seven deaths since May 1, involving over-the-counter children's mediation, including Children's Tylenol ...
Posted On: May 25, 2010 by Walton Law Firm
Tylenol Recalls Children's Tylenol After Disabilities and Death
http://www.legalpad.com/2010/05/tylenol_recalls_childre...