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I want to thank you both - I think.

That’s the problem. Now I’m going to be (as my #1 Son tells me frequently) “overthinking” this for the rest of the day.

It’s one of those tricky problems where I can see both sides having a modicum of merit. I know that in my own life (regarding that son I just mentioned) we did a lot of *BOTH* praying and medical attention. Just recently, after many years of struggle, he finally received a pancreatic transplant which has been a life-altering experience for all of us.

But I still firmly believe that prayer had a lot to do with it - and his surgeon agrees.

Being a fan of old movies and old TV shows, I sometimes watch “Marshall Dillon” with James Arness. In those old shows from the 50’s and early 60’s one is struck by the “hands off” attitude that is taken when it came to legal intervention in people’s lives. The pervasive feeling was the castle doctrine expanded beyond merely defending from invasion, but covering all aspects of life on a person’s estate.

That said, I have to say that I shudder at the mental image of homelife conjured up by the photos of the “parents” at the top of this thread. I am forced to make myself intellectualize the situation by reminding myself that sin and imperfection is pervasive in all of us the only difference being in type and degree - and that degree being far more perceptible from a human perspective rather than a divine one.

I’m tempted to say at this juncture I would have to come down on the side of parental autonomy, difficult as it may be to stomach in cases such as this.

I wonder how many of the folks who would force medical treatment on these unwilling parents would at the same time condone the slaughter of those same children in the womb. (Not asserting mind you - just wondering.)