We hear the disingenuous mantra from the National Organization for Marriage and anti-gay hate groups that "every child deserves a mother and father." It's a line of bullshit and in the case of Brandon Schaible, the young boy might still be alive if he had a gay couple as parents as opposed to Christianist whack jobs, Catherine and Herbert Schaible who withheld medical treatment, preferring to "pray." Thankfully, the boys parents are being criminally prosecuted and will hopefully be convicted and spend time in prison. Brandon Schaible again underscores the dangers of unfettered religious belief be it crazy Christian fundamentalism or Islamic jihadist. Both are a foul and poisonous evil in the world. Both need to be eradicated. CNN Religion Blog looks at Brandon's murder by his "godly" parents (the murderers are pictured above). Here are excerpts (NOTE: they had already killed another child):
When Brandon Schaible got a rash, his parents prayed. When the 7-month-old became irritable with diarrhea and lost his appetite, his parents, Catherine and Herbert Schaible, prayed again.
When Brandon had trouble breathing and gasped for air, his parents called a pastor - this, in spite of the fact that a judge had ordered them to call a doctor.
Brandon Schaible died on April 18 from bacterial pneumonia, dehydration and strep, according to the district attorney’s office – all treatable with antibiotics.
On Wednesday his parents were charged with third-degree murder. The Schaibles are lifelong members of the First Century Gospel Church in Philadelphia, one of several religious groups in the U.S. that relies on faith, and eschews most medical care.
Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams says the Schaibles’ failure to seek medical attention resulted in the death of their son. “Instead of caring and nurturing him,” Williams said, “they ultimately caused his death by praying over his body instead of taking him to the doctor.”
The Schaibles are also charged with involuntary manslaughter, conspiracy and endangering the welfare of a child. In April, the couple admitted to police that their son had exhibited symptoms for several days before he died.
On Friday, Court of Common Pleas Judge Benjamin Lerner ordered the Schaibles held without bail out of fear they were a flight risk.
The Schaibles are already on probation for the 2009 death of another son, Kent, who died from bacterial pneumonia. A jury convicted the couple of involuntary manslaughter and sentenced them to 10 years probation.
“How many kids have to die before it becomes an extreme indifference to the value of human life?” McCann asked. “They killed one child already.”
If convicted of third-degree murder in Brandon’s death, the Schaibles could face a maximum sentence of 50 years in prison, Lerner said. They also face an additional 7 to 14 years if a judge decides to revoke their probation in Kent’s death.
I hope they get the maximum. Let's be clear. Raising children in Christofascists homes is nothing short of a form of child abuse. Groundless deference to religious belief needs to stop - especially when it endangers the lives and mental well being of children.
1 comment:
one has to wonder, too, just what sort of filthy environment these people were living in order to have two children come down w/ bacterial pneumonia.
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