Medico-legal
Gross on faith healing
In March 2008, 11-year-old Kara Neumann lay on a mattress on the floor of her family’s home in Wisconsin while parents and friends around her were praying.
Within minutes she had died from undiagnosed but treatable diabetes. Her parents had not sought medical assistance but had tried to save her through prayer.
Kara was a pulchritudinous girl and a great student. Her despairing aunt had rung the 911 emergency services but by the time the ambulance arrived, Kara’s curable disease had taken her life.
The aunt’s heroic and frantic pleas to intervene in her sister-in-law’s family were answered too late. The parents blamed themselves, not for “not having enough faith” and rather than call in a doctor were desperately calling more people to offer prayer over Kara’s rapidly expiring body.
How can they have been so stupid? Kara had not seen a doctor since the age of three. Her parents belong to an online church Unleavened Bread Ministries whose web page proclaims “Warning: These are America’s Last Days”. The page is in incomprehensible mixture of dire proclamations and uplifting anecdotes of faith healings. I tried to discern the underlying rationale of the faith but it is a diatribe even more opaque and illogical than this blog (amazing but true).
Her mother, Leilani, is quoted as saying, “I thought it was a spiritual attack. We stayed by her side non-stop and we prayed.” Leilani expects that Kara to be resurrected. I wish she was right. I know she isn’t.
The parents were later charged with second-degree reckless homicide and found guilty. The received an innovative six-month prison sentence where both parents are jailed for a different month once a year for six years so that the three remaining kids had the, perhaps dubious, blessing of having a parent at home.
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‘Taxpayer funded abuse’ – Scientology
From © Fairfax:
Former members of the Church of Scientology have told a Senate committee of the ”ruthlessness” of the church and its judicial system, and argued it should not be eligible for tax-free status.
”Australian taxpayers should not be funding systematic, organised abuse,” said Janette Vonthehoff, who claimed her passport was taken from her and she was forcibly prevented from returning to Australia from the United States when she was eight weeks pregnant, because the church ordered she must finish ”training”.
Sydney tax lawyer and social identity Louise McBride defended the church, and clashed with independent senator Nick Xenophon during the hearing.
Senator Xenophon accused Ms McBride of being ”unprofessional” for suggesting the committee was ”making a mockery of the law” by considering his private member’s bill. The bill seeks a tax law amendment that would require religious and charitable organisations to meet a public benefit test.
Ms McBride – who said she was not a Scientologist and had never been to a Scientology church – told the committee: ”You are singling out a group in a government bill as the purpose of the bill. [It] is discrimination. But for parliamentary privilege, it would amount to libel.”
Ms Vonthehoff said she resigned from the church in 2007 because of bullying, two coerced abortions and Scientology justice proceedings that included its own court hearings.
Another former member, James Anderson, said he and his wife had paid up to $1.2 million in Scientology training fees.
Senator Xenophon said Scientology ”auditing” sessions were regarded by some as a cross between personal counselling and Maoist self-criticism, and had been a factor in the UK Charities Commission deciding against granting Scientology tax-free status there.
The Church of Scientology’s social reform director, Virginia Stewart, said the sessions made members ”a better person”, and the fee charged formed the basis of donations to the church.
Dr. God: ‘Thou shalt suffer for my pleasure’
Catherine Deveny’s one woman show God Is Bullshit has been extended due to popular demand. For more details go to www.catherinedeveny.com Her column appears in The Age’s MelbourneLife on Wednesday.
Checking out with dignity, by Catherine Deveny
One of my favourite people is an old boyfriend’s mum, Marijke, a stuttering Dutch psychologist, heart of gold, body of a Veronica and a penchant for buying old furniture, painting it beige and re-upholstering it in calico.
Meeting her in my teens was a revelation. The women I knew mostly fell into the category of teacher, housewife, mother, nurse or tuckshop lady rather than fiercely independent, free-thinking European woman who cooked lentils, travelled the world and danced to her own tune. Clothes optional.
I caught up with Marijke a while ago to meet her new man, Rene, a Dutch cardiologist. The little boys and I rolled up to a breakfast by the sea. Whole-wheat pancakes, bowls of stewed fruit the colour of jewels, fluffy clouds of yoghurt, steaming cups of coffee and light streaming in. At the moment I was reflecting on what a healthy sight it was, Rene pushed his chair back and lit a cigar. At the table.
I love Europeans.
He turned to me and said: ”Cathy, did Marijke tell you how we met?”
”No, she didn’t.”
He took a drag of his cigar and said: ”I killed her father.”
Rene had legally euthanised Marijke’s father in the Netherlands, where euthanasia is legal. A death with a happy ending.
I thought of Marijke and Rene when I addressed the Dying With Dignity Rally on the steps of Parliament House last week.
Passionate supporters huddled together on the steps like many Melburnians past. I hoped this was the last rally for euthanasia ever, but infuriatingly I knew it wouldn’t be. Despite the need for our laws to catch up to reflect social progress and our community values, 85 per cent of people support voluntary euthanasia.
I was disappointed by the turnout – about 150 people. Some 10,000 rocked up to the Save Live Australian Music Rally when they closed The Tote. But the collective age at the Dying With Dignity Rally was probably twice that of the Slam Rally. Perhaps it’s a good sign – maybe people were thinking: ”I don’t have to turn up to a rally for voluntary euthanasia. Clearly it’s going to happen; they legalised abortion.”
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