Louis Posted July 4, 2009 Report Share Posted July 4, 2009 OREGON CITY -- Carl and Raylene Worthington told detectives that they never considered calling a doctor, even as their 15-month-old daughter deteriorated and died. "I don't believe in them," Carl Worthington said of doctors. "I believe in faith healing." Raylene Worthington said that her religious beliefs do not encompass medical care and that she would not have done anything different for her - daughter, who died at home of pneumonia, a blood infection and other complications. In Clackamas County Circuit Court on Wednesday, prosecutors played videotaped police interviews with the Worthingtons, who are accused of criminal mistreatment and manslaughter for failing to provide medical care for their daughter. Ava Worthington died March 2, 2008, after her parents and other members of the Followers of Christ tried to treat her with faith healing. Ava's father, who goes by Brent, his middle name, described what happened: Ava came down with what appeared to be a cold or the flu on a Tuesday. By Saturday, her breathing became labored and the family turned to its traditional faith-healing rituals, praying, fasting, anointing the body with oil, administering diluted wine and laying on of hands. By Sunday, Brent Worthington said he thought there was "a possibility" his daughter was so sick she could die. Then, after a final session of laying on of hands at about 5 p.m., "she perked up," he said. She grabbed her bottle and "took some food." "She was peaceful; she was rested," Worthington said. Two hours later Ava was dead. The interviewers, Detectives Michelle Finn and James Rhodes of the Clackamas County Sheriff Office's child-abuse unit, asked pointed questions, and Brent Worthington provided details about his, his family's and his church's beliefs and practices. He said no one in his immediate family has ever been to a doctor or used prescription or over-the-counter medicine. "It's not something we believe in." The detectives also asked about the growth on Ava's neck, which swelled during the last days of her life. Prosecutors allege the lump -- a benign cystic hygroma -- impeded her breathing. The soft lump became more noticeable two months before Ava died and started to get "tight" the day before her death, according to the Worthingtons. Brent Worthington said he had ultimate responsibility for Ava's care. "I'm the head of the house; it falls to me. The wife follows the husband." He said he confers with his wife but did not consult with anyone else about treating Ava's illness. Raylene Worthington did not dispute the decision to rely on spiritual healing, he said. Asked if she would have taken Ava to a doctor if she knew her child was dying, Raylene Worthington said, "I don't know." Brent Worthington said that forgoing medical treatment is probably difficult for outsiders to understand. For him, medical treatment "is not a question. It's not even thought." When the detectives told Worthington that the law requires a parent to provide adequate medical care, he said he had provided care. "I did everything I could do for her," Worthington said. "What I was doing was working," he said. "She was getting relief." Dr. Christopher Young, the deputy state medical examiner who conducted the girl's autopsy, disagreed. "The absence of action led to her death," said Young, who testified after the jury saw the interviews. Ava's cyst first appeared when she was a few months old. By Christmas 2007, the cyst was swollen and likely interfered Ava's with breathing, Young said. "That's the time when a reasonable parent" would have taken a child to a doctor, he said. Ava's various medical conditions were easily treated, and antibiotics and a simple medical procedure could have saved her right up to the day she died, Young said. The cyst could have been drained with a needle, providing temporary but instant relief, Young said, and antibiotics could have dampened the infections. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian C Posted July 4, 2009 Report Share Posted July 4, 2009 (edited) Yes. Negligent homicide. Scientific Method is the only way to live our lives, religion blinds the ignorant into causing death and suffering. And no I don't give a crap who I offend with that. People can hold whatever ludicrous and gravely unfounded beliefs they like, as long as they do not use them as justification for impeding anyone else's life. Edited July 4, 2009 by Grarghsies Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest efctaxi Posted July 4, 2009 Report Share Posted July 4, 2009 Yes. Negligent homicide. Scientific Method is the only way to live our lives, religion blinds the ignorant into causing death and suffering. And no I don't give a crap who I offend with that. People can hold whatever ludicrous and gravely unfounded beliefs they like, as long as they do not use them as justification for impeding anyone else's life. Burn the sinner Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marcopaulo Posted July 4, 2009 Report Share Posted July 4, 2009 jehovas witnesses are the same arent they? stuff like no blood transfusions etc cos they believe god will save them? i think it is them anyways i apologise if im bein ignorant there Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian C Posted July 4, 2009 Report Share Posted July 4, 2009 Burn the sinner Try it, I have no moral objection to self-defense Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest efctaxi Posted July 4, 2009 Report Share Posted July 4, 2009 Try it, I have no moral objection to self-defense Never . I know when I'm beaten . One big puff could easily blow out all those torches Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c1982 Posted July 4, 2009 Report Share Posted July 4, 2009 Never .I know when I'm beaten . One big puff could easily blow out all those torches You're the man for the job then! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest efctaxi Posted July 4, 2009 Report Share Posted July 4, 2009 You're the man for the job then! Did I miss my own gag ? Your fantasizing about me being gay again aren't you . It's not a healthy pass time you know . And no , I won't be posting my picture again ( you missed it ) for your evil obsession . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EFC-Paul Posted July 4, 2009 Report Share Posted July 4, 2009 Yes. Negligent homicide. Scientific Method is the only way to live our lives, religion blinds the ignorant into causing death and suffering. And no I don't give a crap who I offend with that. People can hold whatever ludicrous and gravely unfounded beliefs they like, as long as they do not use them as justification for impeding anyone else's life. I agree 100% mate spot on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris1eng Posted July 4, 2009 Report Share Posted July 4, 2009 I'm a Christian, but these guys are nuts, jail them for life. Healing works but there is a medical system for a very, very good reason. Idiots like these two give Christians a bad name, a few Christians play for Everton, healing works too. I don't give a damn if that offends anyone either. Utter loons Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris1eng Posted July 4, 2009 Report Share Posted July 4, 2009 Yes. Negligent homicide. Scientific Method is the only way to live our lives, religion blinds the ignorant into causing death and suffering. And no I don't give a crap who I offend with that. People can hold whatever ludicrous and gravely unfounded beliefs they like, as long as they do not use them as justification for impeding anyone else's life. After this comment it's good to see you have a Christian player as your pic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dark Posted July 4, 2009 Report Share Posted July 4, 2009 Yes. Negligent homicide. Scientific Method is the only way to live our lives, religion blinds the ignorant into causing death and suffering. And no I don't give a crap who I offend with that. People can hold whatever ludicrous and gravely unfounded beliefs they like, as long as they do not use them as justification for impeding anyone else's life. I agree 100% mate spot on. Agree too, religion blahhh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aaron Posted July 5, 2009 Report Share Posted July 5, 2009 Most Def, people choose to believe in religion all around the world, but I bet many would not refuse medical care where its needed, fuckign tools, a life wasted due to idiotic beliefs.(no offence intended there, well actually if you believe in the same and would do the same as them then im sorry then you too are an idiot.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris1eng Posted July 5, 2009 Report Share Posted July 5, 2009 It's a very, very small percentage that don't believe in medical care, and quite frankly they are blinded idiots, fools the lot of them. I know a few people who won't take an asprin because they think God will heal them, i mean come on. If the last post was directed at me, then maybe you should read what i posted earlier, if not then i agree with you. As i said before, the people who let their child die should be jailed, one for allowing it to happen and two for being idiots. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StevO Posted July 5, 2009 Report Share Posted July 5, 2009 im not religious in the slightest, but that has nothing to do with my views on this. you have an obviously sick child, you take them to the doctor/hospital. fucking idiots! jail is too good for them, they should just be killed too, letting that happen to a baby, actually death is too good for them too. stick them in a desert, let the vultures have them. they'll eventually die, and thats a shame too. just made me angry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aaron Posted July 5, 2009 Report Share Posted July 5, 2009 It's a very, very small percentage that don't believe in medical care, and quite frankly they are blinded idiots, fools the lot of them. I know a few people who won't take an asprin because they think God will heal them, i mean come on. If the last post was directed at me, then maybe you should read what i posted earlier, if not then i agree with you. As i said before, the people who let their child die should be jailed, one for allowing it to happen and two for being idiots. Nah man it wasnt was just directed at the two who did this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.