… Shame if someone got hurt. This just in from the “we’re not terrible parents, we’re just good Christians” department. Please understand: your bible is a confusing and at times poorly written and exceptionally boring fairytale; the whole package is a myth — your daughter, however, was very real, and had a very real medical condition that could have been cured. Your stupidity killed her. Hopefully your other kids will now get a chance to live somewhere safe and sane for a change…
Parents Pick Prayer Over Docs; Girl Dies
By ROBERT IMRIE
WESTON, Wis. (AP) — Police are investigating an 11-year-old girl’s death from an undiagnosed, treatable form of diabetes after her parents chose to pray for her rather than take her to a doctor.
An autopsy showed Madeline Neumann died Sunday from diabetic ketoacidosis, a condition that left too little insulin in her body, Everest Metro Police Chief Dan Vergin said.
She had probably been ill for about a month, suffering symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, excessive thirst, loss of appetite and weakness, the chief said Wednesday, noting that he expects to complete the investigation by Friday and forward the results to the district attorney.
The girl’s mother, Leilani Neumann, said the family believes in the Bible and that healing comes from God, but she said they do not belong to an organized religion or faith, are not fanatics and have nothing against doctors.
She insisted her youngest child, a wiry girl known to wear her straight brown hair in a ponytail, was in good health until recently.
“We just noticed a tiredness within the past two weeks,” she said Wednesday. “And then just the day before and that day (she died), it suddenly just went to a more serious situation. We stayed fast in prayer then. We believed that she would recover. We saw signs that to us, it looked like she was recovering.”
Her daughter — who hadn’t seen a doctor since she got some shots as a 3-year-old, according to Vergin — had no fever and there was warmth in her body, she said.
The girl’s father, Dale Neumann, a former police officer, said he started CPR “as soon as the breath of life left” his daughter’s body.
Family members elsewhere called authorities to seek help for the girl.
“My sister-in-law, she’s very religious, she believes in faith instead of doctors …,” the girl’s aunt told a sheriff’s dispatcher Sunday afternoon in a call from California. “And she called my mother-in-law today … and she explained to us that she believes her daughter’s in a coma now and she’s relying on faith.”
The dispatcher got more information from the caller and asked if an ambulance should be sent.
“Please,” the woman replied. “I mean, she’s refusing. She’s going to fight it. … We’ve been trying to get her to take her to the hospital for a week, a few days now.”
The aunt called back with more information on the family’s location, emergency logs show. Police and paramedics arrived within minutes and immediately called for an ambulance that took her to a hospital.
But less than an hour after authorities reached the home, Madeline — a bright student who left public school for home schooling this semester — was declared dead.
She is survived by her parents and three older siblings.
“We are remaining strong for our children,” Leilani Neumann said. “Only our faith in God is giving us strength at this time.”
The Neumanns said they moved from California to a modern, middle-class home in woodsy Weston, just outside Wassau in central Wisconsin, about two years ago to open a coffee shop and be closer to other relatives. A basketball hoop is set up in the driveway.
Leilani Neumann said she and her husband are not worried about the investigation because “our lives are in God’s hands. We know we did not do anything criminal. We know we did the best for our daughter we knew how to do.”
And a huge WTF? to the state of Wisconsin for this little nugget (from the UK’s Daily Telegraph version of the story):
However, legal action against the parents may be prevented by a Wisconsin state statute against failing to act to protect children from bodily harm.The statute contains an exemption for what it refers to as “treatment through prayer”.
Nice pandering to the Bible thumpers on that one, eh? “You can’t fatally neglect your child in this state, nosirreebob, that’s an abomination. Except of course, if you were busy praying instead of getting the kid the appropriate treatment. That’s cool.” I’m sorry, Wisconsin, would you care to show me the data proving that “treatment through prayer” works? You can’t? Fancy that. These are the same sick, sad people who believe in this sort of nonsense…
