A Question Of Faith

There have been some odd responses to the - what looks like from here - bizarre story of the US couple who wouldn't take their dying daughter to hospital because they were waiting for God to act. Dale and Leilani Neumann claimed that seeking medical attention would have put the Doctor before God but their stance cost the life of their 11 year old diabetic daughter Madeline.

Whilst public debate raged, the US Courts appeared somewhat more unequivocal. The Marathon County, Wisconsin court found the couple guilty of 'second degree reckless homicide' and therefore didn't set any store by their defense of religious belief (although apparently in no less than 30 other US states they might have).

Some of the blogosphere comments that such a court decision puts 'Government above parent' when making life and death decisions look a bit odd from this side of the water. This same defence of the freedom of the individual can also be heard in the Obama health care debate and has traditionally been the gun lobby's mantra too. It's easy to get the impression that Amercians' fear of the 'New World Order' is widespread but can this really be? The weight of public comment suggests not - from those who see the parents' decision as pure stupidity to those who equate the skills of the medical profession with God given talents (so there's no either or.)