Children are dying of medical neglect needlessly while the Idaho State legislature dithers doing nothing to protect them.
The Idaho Statesman recently reported that five children died directly due to medical neglect because their parents belong to religious groups that don’t believe in modern medicine.
But rather than being prosecuted for manslaughter parents in Idaho are instead protected by a religious exemption.
Religious groups such as General Assembly of the First Born and Followers of Christ implicitly expect adherents to refuse medical care.
But does religious liberty preclude the right of child to live and somehow negate the responsibility of a parent to facilitate proper care? Certainly such needless deaths fit well within the realm of child abuse of the worst sort.
Parents have been charged, convicted criminally and sentenced to prison terms in other states for what apparently is considered a religious right in Idaho.
The Child Fatality Review Team annual report covered 2013 and now brings the total number of deaths to 10 since 2011 in Idaho.
All five dead children added to the list recently were infants.
Causes of death included birth-related complications and according to authorities they all could have been saved with proper medical care.
Why won’t Idaho protect helpless babies?
Well, Idaho Governor Butch Otter says that state lawmakers have agreed to at least talk about it, but so far there is no schedule even set for the promised discussion.
While the lawmakers look for an opening on their calendars children continue to suffer and die needlessly in Idaho.
Other states have removed religious exemptions regarding the medical care for minor children such as South Dakota, Oregon and Colorado.
When will Idaho act? How many more deaths will it take to convince legislators that changing the law is necessary?
no comment untill now