Read about It. Рахимбергенова М.Х. - 18 стр.

       «The children are entitled to protection, and if the parents won’t           On September 25, the Hermansons left Amy in a baby-sitter’s
give it to them, they (the parents) will suffer the legal consequences,»     care and went to Indiana for a Christian Science conference on spiritual
says Mack Futch, an assistant state attorney in Sarasota County.             healing. They returned on September 29.
       The Hermansons, however, have maintained that prosecutors                    But at 8:30 A.M.on September 30, 1986, a state social worker in
want to violate their constitutional right of religious freedom. And in      Sarasota took a call from Amy’s aunt. The worker’s notes sketched a
interviews last week, their supporters maintained that the couple treated    chilling picture: «Over the last two weeks Amy has lost 10 pounds,
their daughter with a proven – if unconventional – method of healing.        drinks constantly, eats large amounts of food, muscle tone is virtually
       Frederick Hillier, a Christian Science «practitioner» who was         gone, eyes are sunken and functioning separately. Child can barely walk
ministering to the child when she died, said that Christian Scientists re-   and has to be carried – all indications point to diabetes but parents re-
gard prayer as a better treatment than conventional medicine. «A Chris-      fuse to take child to the doctor as they are Christian Scientists.»
tian Scientist is doing nothing any different than anyone who has found             A court hearing was scheduled for 1:30 P.M. and Amy’s father
medical treatment to be effective,» said Hillier, who also acts as the       arrived early. At 1:27 P.M., Hermanson took a phone call from home
spokesman for Florida Christian Science churches. «Why do Christian          reporting that Amy had taken a turn for the worse and an ambulance
Scientists rely on spiritual healing when they could go to a physician if    was en route. Learning this, the judge ordered that a medical doctor ex-
they wanted to? In their experience, they found it to be effective.»         amine Amy.
       Church members acknowledge that their methods sometimes fail,                But it was too late. With Christian Science practitioner nearby,
just as doctors sometimes fail, he said. But that doesn’t mean the Chris-    Amy had died in her parents» bed.
tian Scientists deserve criminal charges any more than the doctors do,
he said. «We don’t claim any more than anyone else claims to be 100                                   Most Important Right
percent effective,» Hillier said. «Even Jesus didn’t.»
                                                                                    After performing an autopsy on the child, Associate Medical Ex-
       Amy’s third grade report card was her last. It showed A’s in read-
                                                                             aminer James C. Wilson concluded that medical treatment up to just
ing, English, spelling, mathematics, science, and social studies. «Amy
                                                                             hours before her death probably could have saved Amy. The Herman-
takes a keen interest in all her work,» a teacher wrote.
                                                                             sons have acknowledged they never sought such treatment. That does
       But in September 1986, Amy began fourth grade as a different
                                                                             not make them criminals, say their lawyers and supporters.
child. Teachers noticed her dozing off in class, shedding weight at an
                                                                                    «There isn’t anyone who is more loving to their children than
alarming rate, and complaining of stomachaches. At one point, she held
                                                                             Christian Scientists,» said Bob Drabik, chairman of the board of direc-
her hands over her ears and pleaded, «Stop the noise. Stop the noise,» at
                                                                             tors at Sarasota’s First church, Christian Science, where the Herman-
the sound of a pencil scratching paper.
                                                                             sons are members.
       «After the school year began, Amy was often upset. She would
                                                                                    Florida law says parents can’t be judged «abusive or neglectful»
cry and say that she did not feel well,» said June R. McHugh, director
                                                                             because they withhold conventional medical treatment for religious rea-
of the private Julie Rohr Academy attended by Amy and her older
                                                                             sons. Similar laws exist in most states. They were enacted under heavy
brother, Eric. McHugh told inverstigators that about a week before
                                                                             lobbying from the Boston-based church after one of its members, Doro-
Amy’s death, she told Mrs. Hermanson her daughter might be suffering
                                                                             thy Sheridan of Harwich, Massachusetts, was convicted in 1967 of
from a physical ailment. McHugh recalled that Mrs. Hermanson said
                                                                             manslaughter in the death of her child. «William and Christine Herman-
«The situation was being handled.»
                                                                             son, at all times material*** to the facts in this case, followed the reli-
       On September 22, one of the practitioners began praying for the
                                                                             gious teaching of their church and relied upon Christian Science healing
child.
                                                                             in the care treatment of Amy Hermanson,» the court record states.

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