Medical Ethics and Faith Healing: A Case Study in Parental Rights

The Dilemma

The dilemma associated with this case study suggests that little is known or can be done with serious illness with any great confidence. At the heart of the issue is who is responsible for the sick child. It appears, but may not be true, that the child cannot care for himself and that his immune system needs to be guided by someone else.

The lack of a formal family structure and the unnatural formation of this family also contributes to the confusion of this ethical problem. The Christian Scientist mother of the child holds no biological claim to the child and is demanding a unique spiritual procedure to heal the child. Although this method is controversial and not based in traditional science, laws allowing for this type of treatment are permitted in reasonable circumstances in many areas of the world.

The situation is further complicated by the fact that the sick child's father resides in another state and does not have the physical presence or perhaps knowledge of the situation to have any real impact. The essence of the dilemma rests on the idea that the only person who can really care for this sick child is termed a Christian Scientist, whose practices are not aligned with the more acceptable and mainstream beliefs and practices of the medical industry.

Decision-Making Framework and Evidence

In order to make the best decision, it is necessary to incorporate reason and empirical examples into the equation to formulate a strong opinion about what can be done. The mother's faith in Christian Science should not be marginalized or discounted. In fact, modern medical techniques are very dangerous, and doctors and nurses themselves are often directly responsible for making a sick child even worse. Malpractice suits are common, and doctors and nurses are often trapped in conflicts of interest that result from medical professionals being paid in accordance with how sick their patients are. Healing does not make money. By keeping a young child sick and not allowing the child to heal through other means supports the financial motive of the medical industry.

Medicine has failed at a very large level in recent times, and spiritual healing as seen in Christian Science can and does work all the time. The power of faith can be used in many ways, and modern medicine uses it as well. One way or another, the child must place his faith in his parents or his doctor. If placebos work, we should use them. If faith works, we should use it. If allopathy is dangerous, we should avoid this technique.

Flamm (2004) wrote that "Unless replicated under strictly controlled conditions, studies claiming to have demonstrated 'miracle cures' belong in religious magazines, not scientific journals. This is true regardless of whether the claimed 'miracle cure' involves supposed actions of deities, ghosts, psychic powers, or other claimed supernatural phenomena. It must be emphasized that, in the entire history of modern science, no claim of any type of supernatural phenomena has ever been replicated under strictly controlled conditions." The ignorance stated in this comment should suggest that by using faith, one does not threaten the normal establishment of the medical industry. Allopathy is dangerous and fails most of the time. Starfield (2000) agreed when she wrote "The traditional medical paradigm that emphasizes the use of prescription medicine and medical treatment has not only failed to improve the health of Americans, but also led to the decline in the overall well-being of Americans. Even more significantly, the medical system has played a large role in undermining the health of Americans. According to several research studies in the last decade, a total of 225,000 Americans per year have died as a result of their medical treatments."

These critiques of allopathic medicine and institutional medicine provide a foundation for considering alternative approaches seriously rather than dismissing them out of hand.