Just as other freedoms stop at the point of harming another person/s, freedom of religion should as well. We can't yell fire in a movie theatre, we can't commit libel, because those actions harm or have the potential to harm other people. Religious people should not be allowed to harm their children because of their religion. What is the saying? Your freedom to swing your arm ends at the tip of my nose.

In my opinion this type of behaviour is child abuse. The child should be taken into protective custody and the parents prosecuted.

No person's beliefs should prevent another person from seeking aid of their choosing to address their health. The US protects life, liberty, & the pursuit of happiness, all of which were denied by this girl's parents. It should be clear that parents, and concerned members of society, should be free to add their own means of assistance as long as it does not interfere with the chosen aid, or even step in to prevent harm if there is objective evidence that the aid being sought may cause harm, but in no case should they prevent them from seeking medical help. I believe this is even settled law - that a person's religious views cannot be used to justify child endangerment.

Yes.....ignorance must be stopped.

It is amazing to me how those who are "pro-life" seem to end concern as soon as birth takes place. If all life is precious, then preserve the lives that are here, at least as much as the lives that have yet to begin (the Bible defines life as begining with the first breath, "the breath of live"." ) If they are so concerned about protectignlife, that their own holy book says does not yet exist, and want to codify that in law, then the law shoudl protect the life that is already here even more.

Of course they should be prosecuted .They are basically abusing the child .

In Canada their prosecution would not be in question at all, it is child negligence.

I have just read the article from start to finish, and can't believe that such "shield laws" actually exist. No child should be subject to the whims of such religious neglect. The parents of this girl most certainly should be able to be prosecuted. Here in Australia, if parents attempt to have this sort of medical influence, like trying to prevent blood transfusions as some religions do, the child safety laws mandate immediate removal of the child from the family and they become a ward of the state.

Clearly a case of child endangerment. Killing people should not protected by the 1st Amendment. Funny how a fetus is sacred, but a live born child is disposable.

There is no excuse to allow anyone to die, especially children for lack of proper treatment. Neglect, which this certainly is, should not be exempted for any reason. This applies to anyone, and the penalties should not be light.

As others have stated, if drug or alcohol abuse isn't a good enough excuse for neglect, why should belief?

Neglect in the name of religious freedom is still neglect. Abuse is still abuse. People need to understand that religious liberty doesn't grant the right to disobey other laws, but I'm afraid this is an area of justice that's lacking sound judgement. As a society, we can't seem to reconcile rights and responsibilities when it comes to emotional topics like religion.

I saw a story recently where the parents were being prosecuted after they tried to pray jaundice away from an infant. The cops arrived, I believe after the uncle called, to find a bunch of the parents church members praying for a resurrection.

[nypost.com]

What these parents did is immoral. Their parental rights do not supersede the rights of their child to good health. Parents have the obligation to love their children and care for their physical well being to the best of their ability.

I've seen too many--and even one is too many--children die from lack of proper medical care denied to them by parents such as this young girl's.

We are all responsible for our behavior and its consequences, regardless of why we chose to act in that manner.

I voted yes but if I recall correctly there have been cases similar to this that went to court where the court actually decided in the parents favor because they were practicing the beliefs of their religion and the court ruled it had no jurisdiction on the matter because of the separation between church in state.

I didn't even need to read much past the headline.
I voted yes because I've already heard way too many stories about children dying because their parents think some invisible buddy of theirs will save them.

This goes way beyond criminal negligence the way I see it. This is cruel torture.