Persuasive Essay On Faith Healing Case

In two thousand nine, two year old Kent Schaible died from pneumonia. Just three years later Kent’s brother Brendon died when he was only eight months old from diarrhea, vomiting, and breathing issues that lasted for more than a week. The untimely deaths of these brothers were the consequences of their parent’s decision to choose faith healing over seeking medical attention. This is just one example of a case in which faith healing resulted in the death of a juvenile. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, faith healing is “a method of treating diseases by prayer and exercise of faith in God.” The case of interest for this paper is the one of State v. Hickman in which the parents were ultimately convicted. The first amendment of the United …show more content…
Oregon as I mentioned before is not one of those states. Oregon used to have some of the most extensive exemption laws. However, from 1955 to 1998 Oregon recorded seventy-eight child deaths. At this point, due to widespread criticism, Oregon repealed their exemptions and began to criminally charge parents whose choice of faith healing for their child, over medical attention, resulted in the death of the child. Minors are also entitled to equal protection under the fourteenth amendment and due process under the fifth and fourteenth amendment. The question here is how does one decide which protection is more important, the first amendment protection of religion or the protection provided to children by child welfare laws. Currently the opinion on this matter varies from state to state. In the case of State v. Hickman, I believe their conviction was lawful because of Oregon’s lack of religious exemptions. However, If this case were to take place in Washington where they allow religious exemptions for manslaughter and criminal negligence then I would have to say that they should not be