Advocates Debate Parents’ Rights to Refuse Medical Treatment for Children

Staff Writer, May 27, 2009

Because of the hype surrounding the case of the 13-year-old boy who has refused treatment for Hodgkin’s disease on account of his religion, several other cases of parents refusing medical care for their children have surfaced. For instance, last week, a Wisconsin woman, Leilani Neumann was found guilty of second-degree reckless homicide after her 11-year-old daughter died of diabetes in March 2008.

Neumann believed that her daughter’s illness was caused by sin and that she could only be healed by prayer. However, the state argued that she could have been saved with proper medical care. Neumann’s husband will face the same charges this summer. She faces up to 25 years in prison.

The law generally states that a parent must provide their children with proper medical care if it is available to them. The First Amendment does not protect the freedom of religion if it goes so far as to put another life in danger.