Wednesday, February 02, 2011

Christians Convicted of Placing Faith in God, not MDs

These parents of First Century Gospel Church in Philadelphia routinely prayed to God for their eight children, but when their 2-year-old son died of pneumonia, they were arrested for not recognizing the seriousness of his illness and for not placing their faith in "modern medicine."

-- From "Couple Sentenced for Praying Instead of Seeking Medical Care for Toddler’s Pneumonia" by Kathy Matheson, Associated Press 2/2/11

A fundamentalist Christian couple who tried relying on prayer to cure their dying toddler must take their remaining children for medical check-ups as part of their sentence in the boy's death.

A Philadelphia judge also sentenced Herbert and Catherine Schaible to 10 years of probation Wednesday. They were convicted in December of involuntary manslaughter and child endangerment in the pneumonia death of their 2-year-old son, Kent.

Prosecutors argued adults can choose to forgo medical care for themselves, but not for their children. Defense lawyers said the parents did not know how sick Kent was before his death in January 2009.

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