Seth Ian Glaser, 17 months, died March 28, 1984, in Culver City, California of h-flu meningitis (bacterial meningitis). The parents used only a Christian Science "practitioner" and obtained no medical care for Seth. The parents said that on March 27th, Seth seemed ill and very tired, so they requested absent "treatment" from a church practitioner. At various points Seth seemed to improve, but then relapsed.
Symptoms on the 27th were fever, coughing, and rapid breathing and heart rate. The next morning the baby's body turned blue and he vomited up food. At 11 a.m. the parents decided that Seth's condition was serious and that they should take him to the "healer." However, they had to wait for a 1 p.m. appointment. En route Seth went into convulsions that lasted for 90-second periods. His arms and legs became rigid. Even at this point, Seth's parents testified that they did not seriously consider taking Seth to an emergency room. Alarmed at the severity of Seth's illness, the Christian Science practitioner called the church legal advisor who told her that they had the legal right to withhold medical care.
At 2:45 p.m. Seth stopped breathing. At this point another practitioner who reputedly had succeeded in resurrecting the dead was contacted. Not until 11 P.m. that night was Seth's body allowed to be taken by mortuary personnel. Seth's mother was charged with manslaughter and child endangerment; however, in a trial conducted without a jury, the Court directed a verdict in favor of the defendant.
Natalie Rippberger, eight months, died December 9, 1984 in Santa Rosa, California, of h-flu meningitis. The parents, Mark and Susan Rippberger, had retained a Christian Science practitioner for spiritual "treatment" but would not get essential medical care for their daughter. The infection began approximately two weeks before Natalie's death. Details of the course of Natalie's illness were provided by the Christian Science "nurse," who before her conversion to Christian Science was a licensed medical nurse. (After Natalie's death the nurse left Christian Science and returned to studies in medical nursing.)
On December 4th, Natalie was going through periods in which her eyes were rolling and jerking (the disease organism attacks tissue controlling eye muscles) and her legs became rigid. On the 6th, Natalie was having very heavy convulsions. She was very rigid and her eyes were rolling back in her head. She also was very hot to the touch on the 7th, and the heavy convulsions continued. The only care provided to Natalie by the nurse involved Christian Science nursing "care": bathing, changing Natalie's sheets, bible reading, and prayer. Not once was a doctor called, although medical care has a 92 percent success rate in treating the disease.
In the spring of 1984, six months before Natalie's death, two sets of Christian Science parents were already under indictment in California for the death of their children because of their refusal to obtain medical care for them. Both children died of h-flu meningitis. In December, the Rippbergers called California Christian Science Church officials for advice about their desperately ill child. It is inconceivable the Church official spoken to by the Rippbergers did not know of the two indictments. According to Rippbergers' testimony, the official must have told them that they could legally withhold medical treatment from Natalie. Nevertheless, Natalie's parents, Mark and Susan Rippberger, were charged with felony child endangerment and involuntary manslaughter. Both were convicted of felony child endangerment.
Shauntay Walker, age four, died March 8, 1984, in Sacramento, California, of h-flu meningitis. Shauntay was home sick from her pre-school for 17 days. She received no medical care, only Christian Science "care." Shauntay's cousin, Danyelle, saw her 6 days before her death. Danyelle reported that Shauntay seemed unable to move her arms and legs and that her body was stiff. Shauntay's aunt, Claudia, reported that on March 8th, Shauntay was comatose and had lost a lot of weight. She told Shauntay's mother, Laurie, to take Shauntay to the doctor, but Laurie refused. Claudia then told Laurie she would notify the authorities about Shauntay's condition. Laurie responded to her sister's threat by moving her children to the home of another Christian Scientist. Shauntay died there a few hours later.
A Christian Science practitioner was retained by Laurie Walker for her daughter on February 21st-over two weeks before her death. She visited Shauntay only twice during her deadly illness. The practitioner denied seeing the symptom of Shauntay's stiff neck (an immediate sign of possible meningitis) and lack of responsiveness pointed out to her by Laurie. Laurie Walker was charged with involuntary manslaughter, and on June 21, 1990, over six years after her daughter's death, she pled guilty to that charge in a negotiated plea which left her no room to appeal. Laurie was sentenced to 600 hours of community service, and was instructed by the Court to provide medical care for her remaining daughter until the daughter's eighteenth birthday. Ms. Walker is currently appealing the decision.
Amy Hermanson, age seven, died September 30, 1986, in Sarasota, Florida, of untreated juvenile onset diabetes. Her parents refused to provide her with necessary medical care. Her illness began in late August of 1986. The course of her illness is documented in the testimony from the trial of her parents for felony child abuse and third degree murder.
In August, Amy became thinner, her bones started to protrude through her skin, she developed dark circles under her eyes and her skin developed a bluish tinge. At school she often could not keep awake and would put her head on her desk and fall asleep. Amy's aunt reported that in the 2 weeks before her death Amy had lost 10 pounds, that her eyes were sunken and were functioning separately and that she could barely walk and often had to be carried.
On Friday, August 26th, four days before her death, Amy's appearance was skeletal, according to a teacher. Amy told the teacher that she had been vomiting a lot and had been unable to sleep for a few nights. At the end, Amy had lapsed into a coma; she was lying on a bed without sheets; the sheets were found soaking nearby in several buckets with black vomit on them.
A Christian Science "practitioner" had been retained to "treat" Amy, with prayer, on August 22nd. Following Amy's death, Chris Hermanson, Amy's mother, stated that Amy had been healed by Christian Science the morning of her death, but that Amy had make her own decision to pass on. Mrs. Hermanson had constantly claimed during Amy's illness that Amy was having an emotional problem deciphering her identity. She also states that Amy had become sick because of negative vibrations received from outside the home. Amy's parents were charged with felony child abuse and third degree murder. Both were convicte on the charge of third degree murder.
Ian Lundman, age 11, died May 9, 1989, in Minneapolis, Minnesota of medically untreated juvenile onset diabetes. His mother and stepfather, as Christian Scientists, had the boy treated by a church practitioner instead of a medical doctor. Ian died in a diabetic coma.
On October 9th, 1989, the parents and the Christian Science practitioner attending Ian were indicted for manslaughter by a grand jury. However, in April, 1990, a trial court judge dismissed all of the manslaughter charges, citing a Minnesota religious exemption statute. A Minnesota court of appeals upheld the lower court's decision to dismiss the charges and in September, 1990, the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled 4-2 to uphold the dismissal of the charges. All three courts based their rulings on the due process fair notice requirements of the fourteenth amendment to the U.S. Constitution. They determined that the Minnesota religious exemption law gave the parents the right to assume they could withhold medical care and, therefore, the parents were not given "fair notice" that their behavior was criminal.
Ian Burdick, age 15, died November 10, 1987, in Sherman Oaks, California, of diabetes without medical care. At his death Ian was 5'8" tall and weighed 87 pounds. A Christian Science nurse and practitioner had been retained to treat Ian's disease.
Robyn Twitchell, age two, died in April, 1986, in Boston, Massachusetts, of a bowel obstruction. A simple operation to remove the twisting of the bowel would have most likely saved Robyn's life. Robyn was seriously ill over a five day period; he was in severe pain, vomiting intermittently and he had serious difficulty eating and sleeping. The parents, David and Ginger Twitchell, contacted a church practitioner the first day of Robyn's illness. The practitioner treated the boy's serious medical illness only by prayer. Subsequently, Robyn's illness became "much worse": he was shaking and vomiting and then became unresponsive. Still the parents and the practitioner did not seek medical help, preferring instead to use prayer as the only treatment.
According to medical experts who testified at the inquest, common practice among parents in the community with a child manifesting Robyn's symptoms would have been to wait no longer than 48 hours before seeking medical attention. In July, 1990, the Twitchells were convicted of manslaughter.
Elizabeth Ashley King, age 12, died June 5, 1988, in Phoenix, Arizona, of bone cancer. She was out of school and sick at home from November 1987 to May 1988. Though school officials knew the Kings were Christian Scientists, they allowed the parents to set up a home study program for the girl. In May, alarmed neighbors (not the school officials) realized they had not seen Ashley for months and notified Child Protective Services. A court order was obtained to have Ashley examined at Phoenix Children's Hospital.
Doctors determined that Ashley had bone cancer that had progressed too far to be arrested with medical treatment. The tumor on her leg was over one yard in circumference; it had metastasized to her lungs. Her heart had enlarged from the strain of pumping extra blood to the tumor. Ashley told nurses and doctors: "I'm in so much pain...You don't know how I've suffered."
Given the terminal prognosis, the state agreed to have Ashley placed in a Phoenix Christian Science nursing home. This was done despite the protests of one of the doctors who examined Ashley: he said Ashley was experiencing one of the worst kinds of pain known to mankind. Ashley died 24 hours after being committed to the home. Nursing home records show 71 calls to the Christian Science "practitioner" for "treatment" (i.e., prayer) of Ashley's pain. Indeed, this is the only kind of treatment a Christian Science nursing home will provide for pain. The parents, John and Catherine King, pleaded no contest to the felony of reckless endangerment in their daughter's death.
Kimberly Sartore, age one, died in 1969 in Alaska of medically untreated meningitis. Kimberly's father was charged with and convicted of involuntary manslaughter. However, the conviction was overturned when the Alaskan legislature passed a religious exemption law, and the conviction was expunged from Mr. Sartore's record.
Matthew Swan, 16 months, died in 1977 in Detroit, Michigan, of h-flu meningitis. The parents had retained Christian Science practitioners to treat Matthew.
Lisa Sheridan, age five, died in 1967 in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, after a three week battle with pneumonia without medical care. Lisa received Christian Science prayer treatment over the entire course of her illness. Lisa's mother was tried and convicted of involuntary manslaughter.
Clayton Scott Zimmern, age nine, died in 1968 in Park Forest South, Illinois, of injuries sustained when he was struck by a car while riding his bicycle near his home. The driver of the car immediately called the police, but by the time they arrived, Mr. Zimmern had removed his son to their house. Gregory Johns, Park Forest South Police Chief, reported that Mr. Zimmern, a Christian Scientist, told police that his son did not require medical attention. Mr. Zimmern repeated this when police called him later that evening. When Mr. Zimmern finally did call the police to his house, it was only to tell them that his son had died. Clayton's parents never brought their son to a hospital.
