Something To Quack About In Oregon

Actually if this happened I'd give Gawd some credit.

The state of Oregon has taken a step into the modern era and away from the Dark Ages. A new bill proposes mandatory jail sentences for parents whose child dies as a result of faith healing, or as the sane, cool kids call, child abuse. In recent years Oregon has had several cases of children dieing because religious parents, protected by the law, have chosen to skip medical procedures and instead pray away the illness.

Many of these child abusers come from Followers of Christ Church. On trial this week are parents of the year candidates Timothy and Rebecca Wyland. Instead of choosing doctors, ya know with their crazy medical knowledge and medicine, they chose to pray and anoint with magic oils their 18 month old daughter, Alayna whose eye had a mass (hemangioma) that could have blinded her. The court intervened and the child's condition improved, but the parents now face charges of first degree criminal mistreatment.

Previous cases from the same church include one 2nd degree manslaughter charge, which ended in one not guilty and one conviction of criminal mistreatment (60 days in jail), while another case for criminal negligence resulted in a 16 month prison term. The current bill is so important in protecting the children of Oregon from their parents abusive beliefs; beliefs that thus far have been protected under freedom of religion.

The quaint English accent makes docs more credible...and evidence.

Team Skeptic poo poo's faith healing as a combination of the evolved human brain, the body's natural ability to heal itself and the placebo effect. In many of the cases the patient wants to be healed and before the healing has even been attempted they have already accepted the treatment as successful.

"Christian Scientists are best known for not using  medicine. They believe that illness is an illusion caused by faulty beliefs and that prayer heals by replacing false thoughts with spiritually true ones. "Christian Science practitioners work by trying to argue the sick thoughts out of the person's mind. Consultations can take place in person, by telephone, or even by mail. Individuals may also be able to attain correct beliefs by themselves through prayer or mental concentration" (Barret). These consultations are not free but they are tax deductible (Skeptics Dictionary)!"

The state of Oregon is quite quacky.

While it is true that there have been cases of miraculous healing, that does not mean that the reasons are stupid-natural, err, supernatural. In the documentary The Root of All Evil, Prof. Richard "Papa Bear" Dawkins shows that the numbers just don't add up. Of the million gazillion peeps that have traveled to Lourdes of France for its miraculous healing waters a ridiculously low number of pilgrimages have been cured-like three or five, really.

I'd like to personally welcome Oregon for taking a small step into the modern day world of 2011. now all y'all have to do is make the bill a laws and save some lives...if that is not too much to ask.

* Article Religion News Service.

* Watch The Root of All Evil

* Faith Healing Skeptics dictionary.

* Quackwatch Faith Healing