Mariah Walton, now twenty, has a serious congenital heart defect. It could’ve been treated when she was a child, but her parents chose to pray for her instead of getting her medical treatment.
She now has to use a breathing machine and she is on the list for a heart-lung transplant. She wants to prosecute her parents for endangering her life. She is speaking up for children whose parents choose prayer over medicine.
Walton is sponsoring a bill that would require medical treatment for children that are in immediate danger of dying despite the parents’ beliefs.
Currently, the law protects parents that don’t seek medical care for their children because of religious beliefs. Parents are shielded even if their child dies because of the lack of treatment.
Walton claims that if her parents had gotten the heart defect fixed when she was younger, she would not be suffering the way she is now. Now, she is constantly out of breath and in pain.
Walton’s mother is arguing that she didn’t realize how bad the Mariah’s medical problems were.
Some lawmakers believe that this is infringing on the parent’s First Amendment rights. Yes, the First Amendment guarantees religious freedom for everyone. But, how far does that go? The parents should not be able to take away medical treatment that their child needs.
Many states have these laws to allow parents to practice faith healing if they desire it. Idaho recently upheld a law allowing faith healers to shun modern medicine even if their children really need it.
They believe that because Jesus and his Apostles could heal the sick that prayer can heal their sickness. Hopefully, this girl can get some justice. These parents should not be allowed to risk their children’s lives by not taking them to the doctor. If you want to not believe in medicine, that’s fine. But, leave your children out of it.
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Featured image via Twitter.
