I owe an apology to Bryan Taylor, Prosecutor for Canyon\nCounty. I hope this is good enough for him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Last week I wrote about Canyon County\u2019s Followers of Christ\nChurch and their strong belief in faith healing over medical treatments and how\nthis has led to many documented preventable deaths of children. I referenced a\nconversation we had, when I asked him if he thought the law should be changed.\nHe pretty much said, \u201cThat\u2019s your job.\u201d Meaning, as a legislator who works to write,\nrepeal or revise the laws, that\u2019s what I should have been working on. And he\nwas right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What I did not reference, but, thanks to the Canyon County\nInformation Officer for supplying it, was a lengthy and detailed, even\ndirective email to me. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Prosecutor Taylor clearly stated: \u201cAs a prosecutor, I feel as though it\nis my responsibility to protect our children<\/em>.\u201d\nThen he went on to outline the steps I\nshould follow to change the law that would make \u201cthe cleanest\u201d change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I had discussions\nin the statehouse but drafted nothing. Today, I apologize for my inaction. But\nmore I apologize for last week mischaracterizing Mr. Taylor\u2019s position.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In 2017 the Idaho\nSenate took a run at the law. A bill got to the floor of the Senate where it\nwas killed 11-24. Three out of five Senators with some of Canyon County in\ntheir legislative districts voted yes. Not a single Senate Democrat supported\nit. There were complaints it didn\u2019t go far enough. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s hard to\nbuild coalitions around passionate issues. <\/p>\n\n\n\n I was also\ninformed last week by the Canyon County Information Officer that Canyon County\nhas in fact been doing child fatality reviews for some ten years or so. I have\nasked for details about how often, who attended, what were the findings, but\nthose details are pending. But digging through press reports suggests it sounds\nlike there could have been some conflict about how child death investigations\nwere handled in Canyon County.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A LA Times\narticle from 2017 described how the Canyon County Sherriff had formed his own\nunit to investigate childhood deaths. He had concerns that the then-coroner was\nnot doing an adequate investigation. In 2018 Canyon County elected a new\ncoroner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It would be my\nhope that persistent investigation of childhood deaths in Canyon County could\nhelp bring clarity to this issue. Further, persistent scrutiny maintains focus.\n If clarity for a resolution to this\nissue, as expressed to me by Canyon County Prosecutor Bryan Taylor is found, I\nwould hope such resolve could be communicated to our state legislature. And\nthen some clear action to change the laws must be taken by the Idaho\nlegislature. It\u2019s long past time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The \u201ccleanest\u201d\nsolution proposed by Mr. Taylor was simple repeal of Idaho Law 18-1501(4): The practice of a parent or guardian who\nchooses for his child treatment by prayer or spiritual means alone shall not\nfor that reason alone be construed to have violated the duty of care to such\nchild<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is in the\ncriminal statutes that define \u201cinjury to children\u201d and carries a punishment of\njail or prison. Removing this section which protects parents from prosecution\nwould not prohibit the free exercise of faith healing, prayer, or religious\npractices, all protected by our Constitution. But it would turn up the pressure\non parents to consider the children\u2019s well-being.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Maybe Mr. Taylor\nsaid it best in that poorly-remembered, unacted-upon email he sent me when I\nwas a State Senator almost five years ago now:<\/p>\n\n\n\n By changing the statute, it does not force an\nindividual who believes in faith-healing to change their beliefs and I don\u2019t\nthink we should ask for that. The First Amendment protects ones right to have\nwhatever religious beliefs they choose, but that right does not include the\nright to abuse or neglect a child. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Well said Mr.\nTaylor. I hope you will accept my apology. I wish I had done more.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I owe an apology to Bryan Taylor, Prosecutor for Canyon County. I hope this is good enough for him. Last week I wrote about Canyon County\u2019s Followers of Christ Church and their strong belief in faith healing over medical treatments … Continue reading