Faith healing

==United States law==
The 1974 [[Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act]] (CAPTA) required states to grant religious exemptions to [[child neglect]] and [[child abuse]] laws in order to receive federal money.<ref>{{cite journal |last= Merrick |first=Janna C. |year= 2003 |title= Spiritual healing, sick kids and the law: Inequities in the American healthcare system |journal= [[American Journal of Law & Medicine]] |volume= 29 |issue=2–3 |pages= 269–299 |doi=10.1017/S0098858800002847 |pmid= 12961808|s2cid=27122896 }}</ref> The CAPTA amendments of 1996 {{usc|42|5106i}} state:

{{blockquote|text=
(a) In General. – Nothing in this Act shall be construed –

"(1) as establishing a Federal requirement that a parent or legal guardian provide a child any medical service or treatment against the religious beliefs of the parent or legal guardian; and "(2) to require that a State find, or to prohibit a State from finding, abuse or neglect in cases in which a parent or legal guardian relies solely or partially upon spiritual means rather than medical treatment, in accordance with the religious beliefs of the parent or legal guardian.

"(b) State Requirement. – Notwithstanding subsection (a), a State shall, at a minimum, have in place authority under State law to permit the child protective services system of the State to pursue any legal remedies, including the authority to initiate legal proceedings in a court of competent jurisdiction, to provide medical care or treatment for a child when such care or treatment is necessary to prevent or remedy serious harm to the child, or to prevent the withholding of medically indicated treatment from children with life threatening conditions. Except with respect to the withholding of medically indicated treatments from disabled infants with life threatening conditions, case by case determinations concerning the exercise of the authority of this subsection shall be within the sole discretion of the State.}}

Thirty-one states have child-abuse religious exemptions. These are Alabama, Alaska, California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Virginia, and Wyoming.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.childwelfare.gov/systemwide/laws_policies/statutes/define.pdf |title=Definitions of Child Abuse and Neglect |access-date=2009-02-27 |publisher=[[Child Welfare Information Gateway]], [[United States Children's Bureau|Children's Bureau]], [[Administration for Children and Families]], [[United States Department of Health and Human Services|U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services]] |date=April 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071011062659/http://www.childwelfare.gov/systemwide/laws_policies/statutes/define.pdf |archive-date=2007-10-11 |url-status=dead }}</ref><!-- updated version (February 2011) available at url given --> In six of these states, Arkansas, Idaho, Iowa, Louisiana, Ohio and Virginia, the exemptions extend to murder and manslaughter. Of these, Idaho is the only state accused of having a large number of deaths due to the legislation in recent times.<ref>[http://idahochildren.org/ Child Abuse in Idaho: Deadly & Legal]</ref><ref>[http://www.vocativ.com/culture/religion/faith-healing-deaths/?page=all Living on a Prayer: Why Does God Kill So Many Children in Idaho?]</ref> In February 2015, controversy was sparked in Idaho over a bill believed to further reinforce parental rights to deny their children medical care.<ref>[http://www.idahostatesman.com/2015/02/19/3653321_parental-rights-bill-sparks-lengthy.html?rh=1 Parental rights bill sparks lengthy testimony]</ref>

===Reckless homicide convictions===
Parents have been convicted of child abuse and felony reckless negligent homicide and found responsible for killing their children when they withheld lifesaving medical care and chose only prayers.<ref>{{cite news |work= [[BBC News]] |date= July 3, 2013 |title= US 'prayer cure' couple lose appeal over child's death |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-23167489}}</ref><!-- There are quite a few other parents convicted of various crimes for denying their children medical care. This section needs to be renamed and expanded/updated -->