ion that its person or health is endangered" (Fraser 106). Criminal convictions have been obtain in california twice in the last decade for Christian Science parents who allowed their children to die without medical treatment. In the Wantland case, Fraser notes at the time of her writing that charges had not yet been filed but that the child's natural mother, divorced from the father, was suing for wrongful death, a suit that had originally named not only the father but a local Church official and the main church in Boston (the latter two entities then being severed by the judge) (Fraser 105-106).
The reason for the legal action against these parents is the view expressed by legislatures and the courts that while religious freedom is essential, it, like other freedoms, is different when applied to children rather than adults. Adults have a choice as to what their religious beliefs are to be, while children are in effect given beliefs by their parents and have no choice. Adults can refuse medical care, but children are
...