In the quiet farmhouses of Idaho, a heartbreaking cycle of tragedy has been unfolding almost every year since 2015. Children of the Followers of Christ sect have succumbed to treatable conditions like pneumonia and bacterial infections that escalated to sepsis. This grim reality is shielded by Idaho’s faith-healing protections, which have allowed parents to forgo medical care based on their religious beliefs.
The stark contrast between Idaho and Oregon’s approach to faith healing highlights a contentious debate over parental rights and child welfare. While Oregon removed its faith-healing exception to child abuse laws nearly 30 years ago, Idaho has maintained and even strengthened its protections for faith-healing practices.
The Silent Vigil
In, a sheriff’s deputy entered an Idaho farmhouse where a newborn baby, Malachi, had just died. The house was filled with adults and children seated in silence, their eyes cast downward. Malachi’s parents, members of the Followers of Christ sect, did not seek medical care for their son, who died from pneumonia and bleeding lungs. Doctors who reviewed Malachi’s death records confirmed that his condition was treatable with antibiotics and newborn care in a hospital.
Tragically, this was not an isolated incident. Thirteen months later, Malachi’s parents’ next newborn, Liam, died from the same treatable condition. The parents’ decision to rely solely on faith healing resulted in the preventable deaths of two of their children.
The Legal Landscape
Idaho’s laws have long allowed parents who belong to faith-healing sects to pray rather than seek medical care for their children. Since the 1970s, the state’s criminal and civil laws have provided exemptions for parents who choose faith healing over medical treatment. In contrast, Oregon removed its faith-healing exception nearly 30 years ago, leading to more parents seeking medical care for their children.
Idaho lawmakers have consistently rejected efforts to dial back the faith-healing exemption. Since 2014, they have crafted legislation to limit the role of anyone but a parent in children’s health and safety. The state has codified ‘parental rights,’ banned vaccine requirements in schools and childcare centers, and made parental consent a prerequisite for medical care of minors.
The Human Cost
ProPublica’s investigation revealed that at least 15 babies and children from the faith-healing sect died between 2015 and 2026 from illnesses that doctors could have successfully treated. The experts who reviewed the death records identified numerous preventable losses, including babies who died during birth or in utero very close to their due dates.
For some families, the death of a child was not a one-time tragedy. Records show at least five sets of parents have lost multiple children due to the lack of medical intervention. The emotional and psychological toll on these families is immeasurable, and the preventable nature of these deaths raises serious ethical and legal questions.
The Voices of Dissent
Canyon County Sheriff Kieran Donahue has been one of the most vocal opponents of Idaho’s faith-healing laws. He has sent deputies to follow up on the deaths of at least 10 Followers’ children and infants since he took office in 2013. ‘This is needless,’ Donahue said. ‘This shouldn’t be happening.’
David Peterman, a retired Idaho pediatrician, reviewed the deaths of 18 infants and children at ProPublica’s request. He concluded that the vast majority of the deaths were ‘the result of neglect and unequivocally preventable.’ Peterman expressed his disbelief that the Idaho Legislature has refused to change the law, stating, ‘How is this tolerable?’
The tragic cycle of preventable deaths in Idaho’s faith-healing sect highlights the urgent need for reform. As the debate over parental rights and child welfare continues, the lives of innocent children hang in the balance.
