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by Brad_Hicks from FOX 6 Milwaukee

Last Post 13 days, 16 hours Ago


Girl Dies
Mar 26, 2008 | 2:42 PM
Category: News
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By now you've probably heard the story--  an 11 year old Wisconsin girl dies from a treatable form of diabetes because her parents refuse to get medical care for her.   Instead, they prayed.  They believed their faith would heal her.

What do you think should happen to the parents-- and their other two children?

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Member Comments Total Comments: 23
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Centauri65 read my blog
Mar 26, 2008 | 2:59 PM

The children need to be taken away and put in the care of someone who really cares about them. It is one thing to believe in religion but it is another thing to let your children die because of your faith. These parents - and any parent who would do this - do not deserve to be parents. They belong in jail because they murdered their child. They knew but chose to do nothing. They let their child die because of blind faith. Where did it get them? Their child died. Will they do the same with their other children?

Put them in jail for life and do the same with anyone else who refuses to get their children treatment (yes I also include vaccinations) because they will "pray" instead. You want to believe - go for it. But when you let your children get sick and die because you thought you could "pray and make them get better" you are an idiot and should be locked up. You do not deserve to be a parent.
Only1Antoine read my blog
Mar 26, 2008 | 3:26 PM

The children needs to be with some sort of other family members away from the parents. I agree with that. I have never heard any parents in their life doing anything like that; praying for healing?

OK, GOD does have all kind of power, but parents have the power to give their children medical tension immediately when something severe is happening to them.

If they want to believe in treatment, they should be treated with their children sent to either grandparents, aunties and/or uncles or any other adult responsible relative
aaro-nf read my blog view my photos
Mar 26, 2008 | 4:39 PM

i say children should be taken away and the parents thrown into the slammer. why in the hell would parents refuse to take a child who has diabetes for treatment? i am sorry but this angers me. that just means that those parents in the post just do not care about their kids' health, especially when it comes to diabetes. if she would have gone to the doctor and got treated, i believe her idabetes would have under control. who would ever do that to their children in the first place. praying does not help in some cases but she should have sought treatment in the first place. NO MATTER WHAT AGE THE CHILD IS GET THAT CHILD TO A STINKIN' DOCTOR FOR GOD SAKES!!!! would the parents be charged in connection with her death and for child neglect? as always, brad_hicks, great job on the posting of this blog. i only want to hear from you on this comment. one more thing i would like to say is this: those parents of the child should have their parental rights taking away for good.
bassplayer92 read my blog
Mar 26, 2008 | 5:31 PM

It is in my belief that God has blessed us with a medical community and care. Our prayers should be with the doctors and their God given skill to do the best work that they can. If God is tested in the way the parents put him to the test, it will fail. For this reason the parents should be held accountable. If they make this same decision for themselves, thats one thing. Fine, but give the child the chance to make that decision for herself when she is older. This child had no choice and she paid the price with her life.
garageman read my blog view my photos
Mar 26, 2008 | 5:46 PM

How can these zealots be too blind to see the link between God making man and man making medicine? There is nothing any of us can do that God didn't make us able to do.
JAGuse read my blog
Mar 26, 2008 | 9:26 PM

I pretty much agree with most of the sentiments listed here. However, I want to argue against the parents' decision here based on their gross misunderstanding of Christian doctrine. Very simply, God does not operate in a vacuum. Rather God works through His body. If God's "arms" and "legs" do not move, we shouldn't expect God to work miracles. In other words, if the girl is sick, HAVE THE GOOD SENSE BY ALL MEANS TO TAKE HER TO A HOSPITAL AND ALLOW HER TO HAVE TREATMENT! Good grief. Exercise some commone sense!
F0x6Fan read my blog view my photos
Mar 26, 2008 | 10:29 PM

the parent failed miserably here....obviously she wasn't playing with a full deck ....she ignored her prime maternal instinct...which is to protect and help her child no matter what.

common sense was tossed out the window....sad
Basher51 read my blog view my photos
Mar 27, 2008 | 7:56 AM

I'm troubled by this case. As a Christian who believes in the fullness of the Gifts of the Holy Spirit, I've seen and experienced the healing power of God. God can and does heal when He chooses to do so. But you can't make Him put on a show for you. I understand that God answers prayer in one of three ways: Yes, No, and Not Now. It is interesting to note that these folks were not part of a church. That means that they were not covered by authority, as the Bible commands us to be. Were they part of a church, the elders of that church would have guided them through the process and, by the elders discernment as well as their own prayers, they would have undoubted known that God was going to do His healing work through conventional means. My view of the Bible is that it says that all of the medicine and surgery in the world is useless unless God ordains the healing. I'm sure that these folks are devastated. I note that they blame their lack of faith for the girl's death. What they need is not further punishment but hours and hours of solid Christian counseling to move them through their grief and to connect them to the love of God. Part of that should be getting them out of their self-regulated holy huddle and into a body of believers where they will be under proper authority.
jgravelle read my blog view my photos
Mar 27, 2008 | 8:01 AM

There's only one fitting punishment for parents so ignorant they would deny their 11 year-old daughter her insulin while opting instead to chant and wish to themselves as the girl slowly and painfully died of diabetic ketoacidosis: these 'people' should be sealed into a doorless, windowless chamber and allowed to pray for food and water to appear. And I'll go even further than that, because a) somebody has to; and b) it's what I do.

Were I to sell you an empty backpack and tell you it was a parachute, I'd be held liable when you went splat at the landing zone a la Wile E. Coyote. It follows then, that whoever sold these myopic morons on the notion that reading from a book of incantations would magically cure their baby girl is equally liable, and THAT charlatan should share their cell, for the rest of all their miserable lives.

But I'm not bitter...


-jjg
Basher51 read my blog view my photos
Mar 27, 2008 | 8:02 AM

I want to make something abundantly clear. For me, these folks' hearts were in the right place. Their brains weren't. Some Christians like to sit around talking about God and others enjoy seeing Him actually do stuff. Believe me, He still does "the stuff". I've seen it and I've experienced it. But seeing Him "do the stuff" is also quite addicting. I've been praying over someone with friends of mine and sensing a person moving from asking God for healing to demanding it right now. Just because they want to be able to testify that they saw God do the stuff. That's not right and I suspect that these parents went from an earnest and honest prayer to demanding a show so that they could brag to friends. In short, lack of humility stifles prayer quicker than anything.
antmarta read my blog view my photos
Mar 27, 2008 | 9:04 AM

Ditto jjg!!!!!!!!!
Centauri65 read my blog
Mar 27, 2008 | 9:19 AM

There is an old joke (I do not remember exactly how it goes) in which a devout person dies in a disaster after declining help from rescuers several times. The person then asks God why they died and he says something like "I will have to look into it. I sent rescuers to help".

People like this couple should not have children (or anything that is dependent upon them). They lack the ability to make rational decisions and now an innocent person died because of them. 20-30 years in jail should help them learn how to think right.
Katbird read my blog view my photos
Mar 27, 2008 | 12:55 PM

I'm with jjg and Antmarta on this one.
Take the other children away NOW and get these two to face reality.
Absolute insanity.
How in the world could a parent watch their child suffer and die??
upnorth read my blog
Mar 27, 2008 | 3:17 PM

Like many of the other bloggers here, I also agree with jgravelle and Bassplayer. When ever I hear stories like this one, it just makes me sick. Call me what you will, but I have no sympathy for these parents. How can you watch your child get sicker day by day and do nothing about it (oh thats right they prayed). OMG! this poor little girl had no choice in this matter and died because of her parents stupidity. Take the other children away, they don't deserve to be parents.
loripav read my blog view my photos
Mar 27, 2008 | 6:13 PM

It's sad to see this. This is a touchy one. Some religens refuse treatment for the fact of the calt their in. I do think that the children need to be taken but let the parents see them supervised. Now for the parents, They need to be punished. Perhaps lots of counseling. See this is were faith and church may play a big roll. Most people know to take their child for help. I know I would.
jgravelle read my blog view my photos
Mar 28, 2008 | 8:41 AM

Follow-up: The co-defendants in what I hope becomes a negligent homicide trial have made a public statement:

http://www.unleavenedbreadministries.org/?page=pressrel
ease

It is a sickening diatribe, and I would encourage this vile David Eells character to "enter into life" as quickly as possible...


-jjg
jgravelle read my blog view my photos
Mar 28, 2008 | 8:41 AM

Link from above fixed and active:

http://www.unleavenedbreadministries.org/?page=pressre
lease


-jjg
Katbird read my blog view my photos
Mar 28, 2008 | 1:09 PM

I feel a little sick after reading that.
They believe they can bring people back from the dead if that's what God chooses????
And they've done it before?????
:::::waves red flag:::::::
CrownVictoriaCop read my blog
Mar 28, 2008 | 5:52 PM

I think religion can be helpful to a sick person's healing, but that has to be done in combination with a medical team. If those stupid parents would have just taken that girl in when she got sick, and given her insulin every day, she would've lived.

I think the DA will charge those parents with Second Degree Reckless Homicide, because WI law says a parent cannot be charged with child neglect if they say it was because of religion, with sufficient evidence. And I hope those parents go to prison for a LONG time.
serbinm
Mar 28, 2008 | 8:01 PM

I hope the parents get life in prison.How can u stand there and watch your own child die like that makes me sick and after the child dies then u call for 911 how dumb can u be
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Brad_Hicks

FOX 6 Anchor/Reporter: Thanks for visiting my bio page. You must be a curious person, so we already have something in common. Mix your curiosity with a passion for detail, a love for people, and a hunger for adrenaline, and you have the recipe for a news person! I grew up (although some people would disagree with that) in Palo Alto, California. While pursuing my Ph.D. in Geography at Texas A&M, I decided to explore the wild and wacky world of television news. I was hooked. My journey has taken me to the South (Atlanta), the Northeast (Lancaster/Harrisburg PA), the West (the San Francisco Bay Area), and now the Midwest. Over the years, I have been fortunate to have my work earn national awards from NBC News, the U.S. Coast Guard, and The National Water Safety Congress, as well as multiple Emmy Awards, and awards from the Associated Press. While I was working in Pennsylvania, the 6pm newscast I anchored became the highest rated top-50 market evening newscast in the country. The biggest honor, however, is knowing that you are watching. I take very seriously the responsibility we have to bring you accurate and up-to-the-minute information. Covering the news for you is not just a job; it's a privilege. Now some trivial tidbits you would never know about me if I didn't tell you: *I was once attacked by wild dogs in India and underwent rabies treatment. *As a graduate student, I published an academic paper that provided the first evidence Native Americans domesticated the California Fan Palm (Washingtonia Filifera). *My Grandfather, Robert T. Frederick, was the youngest and most wounded General in WWII. He created a unit called the First Special Service Force, a precursor to today's Special Forces. Winston Churchill called him "the greatest fighting General of all time", and actor William Holden portrayed him in the movie "The Devil's Brigade". *I feel deeply fortunate to live in this great country, and I am quietly indebted to every war vet who has risked his or her life for the freedoms we all enjoy. Be sure to check out my video bio and my blog, and if you're still curious, or you have a story you would like me explore, please give me a buzz at the TV station. I will take your call, because I'm curious too!

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