Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Prayer Mom Falls Ill at Trial

I don't think anyone got the irony of this situation.

Mom on trial for daugher’s faith healing death falls ill [and requires -- ironically -- medical attention]


A woman who refused to seek medical attention for her dying daughter needed medical help herself after falling ill Saturday about 20 minutes into her trial on a second-degree reckless homicide charge....


.... Howard ordered paramedics to be called to evaluate her condition. Members of the Wausau Fire Department checked Neumann’s blood pressure and monitored her heart and she was cleared to return to the courtroom without additional medical help, Linehan said.


Leilani, 41, was brought back to the courtroom in a wheelchair. She moved to a regular chair and told Howard she was ready to continue.


.... But soon after prosecutor Lamont Jacobson began his opening statement, the Neumann, 41, fainted at the defense table.


Paramedics checked her out, and placed her in a wheelchair after finding that her vital signs were normal.


The statements then resumed, but Circuit Judge Vincent Howard waited until this morning to have the state present its first witnesses....



This is imported from Slaughter of the Sheep:

This is where false doctrine turns deadly. Unlike the two who died at Lakeland, this child would not have died if her parents had sought medical attention for their daughter. They didn’t, she died, and now they are standing trial in her death. Signs and symptoms of illness in this case were not ignored, they just refused to act on them, giving the argument that they had faith God would heal her.

WAUSAU, Wis. — A Weston woman, accused of praying instead of seeking medical attention for her dying daughter, suffered a medical emergency as her homicide trial got under way but appeared OK about 30 minutes later.

Her case is believed to be the first of its kind in Wisconsin involving faith healing in which someone died and another person was charged with a homicide. (Online Source)

I have always maintained that false doctrine is dangerous. I guess Jim Jones and the more than 1,000 suicides in Guyana aren’t enough to convince people of this. Sadly, this story won’t convince them either. Here is the defense provided by her parents:

Neumann has said her family believes in the Bible, which says healing comes from God, and she never expected her daughter to die.

According to the criminal complaint, Madeline’s father considered the girl’s illness “a test of faith” and Neumann never considered taking the girl to the doctor because she thought her daughter was under a “spiritual attack.” (Online Source)

Ask me again why I stand on the wall and sound the alarm.