August 26, 2003
Satan, Begone!
One disability-related story that has received some press this week is the young boy with autism who died during some kind of exorcism ceremony. It breaks my heart to imagine the pain and fear this kid must have experienced in the last moments of his life. It also boggles my mind that people living in an urban Midwest city in the 21st century still believe in things like evil spirits. Of course, the idea that people with disabilities are possessed by evil demons stretches back to medieval times. This article provides a good overview of historical attitudes towards disability. There's no doubt that general attitudes about disability have improved, but I'm troubled that these remnants of Dark Age thinking still persist. I've had my own run-ins with people who think this way and all I could do was shake my head and hope that a new Age of Enlightenment is just around the corner.
Posted by wintermute2_0 at August 26, 2003 03:27 PM
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Comments
Aaaargh! That's disgusting!
I have to say, ever since I had my own children I've gotten a lot more right wing. I see stuff like this and I want to practice justice according to Clint Eastwood as opposed, to, say, The Bill of Rights.
Posted by: Lisa Williams at August 26, 2003 11:00 PM
The fact that Terrance died during what the participants called a prayer service adds legal complications, McCann said.
Wisconsin law makes it a felony to intentionally cause bodily harm to a child. But a subsection reads: "TREATMENT THROUGH PRAYER. A person is not guilty of an offense under this section solely because he or she provides a child with treatment by spiritual means through prayer alone for healing in accordance with the religious method of healing permitted" under other statutes "in lieu of medical or surgical treatment."
I don't see how this could be a legal complication at all. If I'm interpreting this right, it simply states that if your child has an incurable illness and you choose to treat with prayer instead of, say, chemo, then you as a parent are not to be charged with child abuse if that child dies, or develops an infection, etc.
Neither does it say anything about prayer involving physical suffocation.
I'm not sure how this isn't a most cut-and-dried case of manslaughter.
Posted by: geena at August 27, 2003 11:09 AM
It ought to tip you off that your minister isn't all knowing when the only day job they can get is being a janitor
Posted by: zach at August 27, 2003 01:13 PM