Wednesday, May 20, 2009

These people should be behind bars


Leilani Neumann, above, and Colleen Hauser might not look like criminals, but Neumann is already up on homicide charges, and Hauser is on her way to the same fate. The reason? Their refusal to get medical attention for terminally ill children. Neumann is on trial right now for allowing her 11-year-old daughter, Madeline, to die of untreated diabetes in March 2008. At this writing, Hauser is on the lam with her 13-year-old son, Daniel, in an attempt to avoid a court order that the boy receive chemotherapy to prevent his death from Hodgkin's lymphoma. In both cases, the mothers believe the only medical treatment that is acceptable is healing from above. And they're nuts. It's not wrong for parents, or anyone, to believe in the healing power of prayer. It's not wrong for them to make decisions about medical care for their children based on the best available medical advice and testing. It's not wrong for adults to make whatever decisions they see fit about their own medical care. But it is criminally wrong - first-degree murder, in fact - for them to refuse medical treatment that could save their children from death and instead wait for divine intervention. These people do not represent the vast majority of religious folks. They are the lunatic fringe, and any normal person, even the most devout among them, would be embarrassed to be associated with the likes of Neumann and Hauser. Really, does any sane person believe that it's OK to kill a child this way?

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10 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Wonder if they ever heard the adage, "The Lord helps those who help themselves."

--Brad Hundt

May 20, 2009 at 3:35 PM  
Blogger Brant said...

Or considered the idea that God is responsible for man's ability to create medical advances.

May 20, 2009 at 3:49 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

And we wonder why the government needs to take over for the average thinking man?

May 20, 2009 at 7:04 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Or how about the FDA having a hand in protecting any cures for cancer?
Trillions of dollars have been spent in the cure for cancer...Unfortunately, there is none. Chemotherapy is it. So people have to invent cures. The people who should be hung are the millionares responsible for the blanket of protection from a cure. Think about how much money we're talking about...trillions of dollars of treatments.
The cure to cancer is preventation, eating tons of fruits and veggies. But if you get it...ouch!!
Look into it Brant, you'd be shocked.

May 22, 2009 at 12:15 PM  
Blogger Brant said...

Do you have any specifics about the supposed blocking of cancer cures?

May 22, 2009 at 12:42 PM  
Blogger Brant said...

UPDATE:

WAUSAU, Wis. (AP) – A Wisconsin jury has found a mother guilty of second-degree reckless homicide for praying while her sick daughter died instead of seeking medical help.
A Marathon County jury on Friday convicted 41-year-old Leilani Neumann of Weston in the death of her 11-year-old daughter Madeline. The girl died from untreated diabetes at their rural home on March 23, 2008.
Prosecutors say a reasonable parent would have known something was wrong with Madeline. They say her mother recklessly killed her by ignoring obvious symptoms, such as her inability to walk or talk.
Neumann told a detective in a videotaped interview during her trial that the Lord was going to take care of her daughter and all she needed was prayer.
Neumann faces up to 25 years in prison.

May 22, 2009 at 4:52 PM  
Blogger Cheryl Chamberlain said...

well, she'll have all the time in the world to pray now.

May 27, 2009 at 10:11 PM  
Blogger Brant said...

Yes, plenty of time for reflection. Although I'm sure she'll get much less than the maximum, unfortunately. Maybe God can spring her from prison. He had Jonah gobbled up and then spit out, right?

May 28, 2009 at 7:24 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

The problem is, how do you know what god wants? He says different things to different people. If it's my kid, I opt for treatment and take the chance that god will be PO'd with me if he wanted the kid to die.

May 28, 2009 at 10:31 AM  
Blogger Brant said...

A well-placed lightning bolt could have saved everyone a lot of trouble.

May 28, 2009 at 11:28 AM  

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