Without Faith Healing Exemption, Oregon Parents Face Criminal Charges for Failing to Seek Medical Care for Children

The New York Times examines the upcoming trial of Timothy and Rebecca Wyland, Oregon parents charged with criminal mistreatment of the infant daughter for whom they sought no medical care after she developed a large tumor behind her eye.  The child was removed from her parents’ home in June. The Wylands are members of the Followers of Christ Church, a denomination that relies on faith healing rather than conventional medicine.  In 1999 Oregon repealed its law exempting such believers from criminal prosecution when they failed to seek medical care for their children. The Times reports that this change was prompted at least in part by 1998 news reports that 21 of the 78 children buried in the Church’s graveyard could have lived if their parents had sought medical treatment for them.

JFB