Posted on 10/08/2009 6:56:27 PM PDT by delacoert
On the last day of Kent Schaible's life, his parents and pastor intensely prayed over his 32-pound body, which, unbeknown to them, was ravaged by bacterial pneumonia.
When the 2-year-old boy finally died at 9:30 p.m. Jan. 24 inside the family's Northeast Philadelphia home, the pastor called a funeral director to take the boy's remains to the Philadelphia Medical Examiner's Office.
At no time that day, nor in the week-and-a-half prior, did Herbert and Catherine Schaible seek medical treatment for their son despite his sore throat, congestion, liquid bowel movements, sleeplessness and trouble swallowing, Assistant District Attorney Joanne Pescatore said in court yesterday.
"All it would have taken is a simple visit to a doctor for antibiotics or Tylenol, maybe, to keep this child alive," she said during the couple's preliminary hearing.
After the two attorneys representing the Schaibles argued for their innocence, Municipal Judge Patrick Dugan held them for trial on charges of involuntary manslaughter, conspiracy to commit involuntary manslaughter and endangering the welfare of a child.
"When you look at this case, it's obvious that what you have are loving parents who also appear to be misguided," Dugan told the couple. "Your child needed medical care. As parents, that's what your duty is, and that's why you are here in court today."
The Schaibles' case is similar to a growing number around the country in which parents are slapped with criminal charges for turning to religion rather than medical care for sick children who later die.
Herbert Schaible, 41, and Catherine Schaible, 40, of Rhawn Street near Bustleton Avenue, are free on bail and will be arraigned on Oct. 28.
They are members of the First Century Gospel Church, in the Northeast, which believes that the sick can be healed through prayer rather than by medicine, according to statements that the couple gave homicide detectives two days after their son's death.
" 'We prayed to God for victory . . . We were praying that he would be raised up, " Detective Stephen Buckley said yesterday, reading from Herbert Schaible's statement.
Herbert Schaible is a teacher at First Century Gospel Church, said his attorney, Bobby Hoof.
"They believe in faith-healing; that's fine for them," Pescatore said after the hearing. "But this was a two-year-old child."
On Jan. 13 or 14, Kent started showing symptoms of illness that at times improved but generally grew worse until his death on Jan. 24, his parents said in their statements.
" 'He was moody and demanding; you couldn't please him,' " Det. Buckley said, quoting from Catherine Schaible's statement.
Edwin Lieberman, the assistant medical examiner who did Kent's autopsy, said that he had determined the manner of death to be a homicide because the boy could have been saved with basic medical care.
Bacterial pneumonia "is very treatable," he said, but without care he "seriously" doubted if Kent improved at all, as his parents had told detectives.
Francis Carmen, Catherine Schaible's attorney, said that the couple's decision to forgo medical attention was not due to their religion, but because they thought Kent had a cold.
"The commonwealth wants to use [the Schaible's] religious beliefs as a self-fulfilling prophecy that, somehow, because they are different and because they exercise religious beliefs that are not necessarily in line with the majority of us," he said, "that is the cause of them failing to recognize that this child was as ill as he was."
Hoof, on behalf of Herbert Schaible, said that his client did everything in his power to care for his son in the days before he died - feeding him and giving him liquids.
"He cared for his child and thought his child was getting better," Hoof told reporters.
When asked why he did not call a doctor, he said: "He never said that he would not take the child to a doctor in his statement. He never said that."
Should the parents be prosecuted?
Yes. And then, if they're convicted and go to prison, they should be denied health care if they get sick. Let them pray for their own recovery.
And here's a question: have these miscreants ever received medical attention in their lives? If so, add hypocrisy to their list of moral failings.
I am all for freedom of religion, until that freedom of religion infringes on a right of someone else that is of equal or greater importance. In this case, it seems to me the parents’ exercise of their freedom conflicted with the child’s right to life itself. So I would say, yes, they should be prosecuted.
Their defense seems flimsy to me also. If the child was sick for over 10 days, any person of sound mind should be able to conclude it is not a simple cold. After 2 or 3 days of no improvement, he should have been taken to a doctor.
A devout Christian heard an urgent news report on his radio that a flash flood was within minutes of entering the peaceful valley where he lived. Immediately he went to his knees and prayed for safety. The words were still on his lips when he became aware that water was gushing under his door. He retreated to the second floor and finally onto the roof of his house.
While he sat on the roof, a helicopter flew by and the pilot asked over the loudspeaker if they could lift him off. "It's not necessary since I have the Lord's protection," he replied.
Moments later the house began to break up and he found himself clinging to a tree. A police boat, braving the waters, approached him for rescue, but he assured them that the Lord would save him. Finally, the tree gave way and the man went to his death.
Standing before the Lord, he asked, "Lord, I'm glad to be here, but why didn't You answer my prayer for safety?" The Lord responded, "Son, I told you over the radio to get out of there Then I sent you a helicopter and a motor boat!"
God had already answered their prayers. He blessed us with doctors and nurses to provide medical treatment, and scientists to create drugs, and construction workers to build hospitals and so on and so on.
But the parents spat in God’s face and said “No, we want a special miracle cure.”
As someone posted on another thread about a similar case, when they get to prison they can pray to God to dissolve the bars and walls.
There are documented cases of people that were not able to be helped by medical science, yet were healed in a religious service. Why are parent’s not prosecuted for now bringing their sick child to a religious healing service. It is the same level of neglect as the case you have discussed.
http://www.ihaveavoice.com
Maybe I misunderstand, but you don't seem to make sense. Parents who have sought for and exhausted every medical means to treat their ailing child who beseech the Lord are guilty of neglect?
What am I supposed to notice in the link that you placed in your post?
“Faith-healing parents charged in death of infant son”
Good and I hope they serve lots and lots of time.
There are documented cases of people that were not able to be helped by medical science
Why are parent’s not prosecuted for now bringing their sick child to a religious healing service
Swing and a miss.
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