Assignment task:
What should be the legal responsibility of parents with critically ill children? Should society legally obligate all parents, regardless of their religious convictions, to utilize orthodox medical care? If so, would this interfere with the First Amendment right to religious freedom? Do judges and juries have a right to state that prayer is inadequate medical treatment? In June of 1990, David and Ginger Twitchell were tried for negligent homicide (involuntary manslaughter) of their 2 ½ year old son, Robyn, who had died of an untreated bowel obstruction. The parents had contacted a Christian Science practitioner but not a medical doctor. Massachusetts law does recognize spiritual healing as a form of medicine but it requires parents to seek orthodox medical care for seriously ill children. Testimony at their trial revealed that Robyn had suffered excruciating pain during the last five days of his life. A large section of his colon, scrotum, and other tissues had become necrotic, and even the pressure of a diaper on his abdomen caused him to scream in pain. Before becoming comatose, he began vomiting fecal material. The Twitchells consulted a Christian Science practitioner and nurse whose treatment consisted of "heartfelt yet disciplined prayer." Twitchell's defense was that