SALEM, Oregon - Faith healing could be dropped as a legal defense to murder or manslaughter under a bill up for a vote in the Oregon Senate.
The measure was drafted largely in response to the deaths of children among members of the Followers of Christ Church in Oregon City, who rely on spiritual treatments instead of medical care.
An Oregon City couple who belong to the church are facing trial this week on criminal mistreatment charges for failing to seek medical care for their infant daughter while another couple were convicted last year of criminally negligent homicide in the 2008 death of their teenage son.
In March 2008 Carl and Raylene Worthington, members of the Followers of Christ church in Oregon City, Oregon, opted to practice faith healing rather than turning to evidence-based medicine in treating their 15 month old daughter Ava. Prosecutors said that the child’s blood infection could have been easily treated with antibiotics and the couple were charged with manslaughter and with criminal mistreatment. The defence argued that the Worthington’s sincerely believed that Ava’s health was improving. Additionally, Oregon lawmakers have noted a pattern of infant mortality and child mortality among members of the Followers of Christ church, greatly in excess of mortality rates among similar groups elsewhere.
The Oregon House unanimously approved the bill in March. If passed Monday, it will return to the House, which could allow it to take effect immediately.
