Let’s start with a disclaimer – my religious beliefs are probably best described as “agnostic,” although I do believe that there is a greater force that is beyond our ability to understand with scientific rationale.
Other members of my family belong to various faiths and certainly many of my friends believe in their religion, attend houses of worship, and perform truly remarkable deeds in the name and mission.
Yet I just can’t comprehend the underlying tenets of this tragedy. Religious freedom is sacrosanct in our society; so is the welfare of our most vulnerable population of children.
When these worlds collide, it has to become the charge of society to protect the child. In the 21st century, we simply know with significant certainty that science-based medical practice provides a chance of survival.
Given the condition that this has happened once before with another child makes it all the more bizarre.
How did that happen? What mechanisms failed to monitor, track and intervene in this case?
I’ve been fortunate to have had only one incident in my career where there was conflict with a family over religious beliefs and the care of their child.
Suffice to say it was awkward and uncomfortable. In the end, it was another member of that family who was able to convince the parents to have us transport their very ill child. Nothing I said, or could have said, would have changed their belief.
Afterwards, those of us on the scene debated whether we had to report the parents for child endangerment. While the decision to report was unanimous, it wasn’t simple and it wasn’t an easy discussion.
Our job can be challenging in ways one wouldn’t expect. In this case I hope – pray – that an investigation will reveal the issues that must be addressed to prevent this from happening again.
