Religious Exemptions for Child Abuse and Neglect Laws Exist in 34 U.S. States

Most states allow religious exemptions from child abuse and neglect laws

Some states permit religious exemptions from child abuse and neglect laws, allowing parents to refuse medical treatment for their children based on religious beliefs. According to data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 34 states, along with the District of Columbia, Guam, and Puerto Rico, include exemptions in their civil child abuse statutes when medical treatment conflicts with religious beliefs. Additionally, some states have religious exemptions to criminal child abuse and neglect statutes, including at least six that have exemptions to manslaughter laws.

These exemptions have drawn renewed attention in Idaho, where a state task force reported in May that five children died unnecessarily in 2013 because their parents, for religious reasons, refused medical treatment. This report has prompted some legislators to consider repealing state laws that protect parents from civil and criminal liability when they refuse medical treatment for religious reasons.

Such legal exemptions mean that if a parent withholds medical treatment for an ailing child and opts for spiritual treatment through prayer, the child may not be considered “neglected” under the law, even if the child dies. These exemptions are intended to accommodate the teachings of certain religious groups, such as Christian Scientists and the Idaho-based Followers of Christ. Some of these groups encourage or, in the case of Followers of Christ, mandate the use of faith-based healing practices instead of medical science.

In most cases, adults have the freedom to decide how or whether to treat an illness. However, when the patient is a minor and still under the care of parents or guardians, the situation becomes complex, involving competing claims of child welfare, medical necessity, parental rights, and religious liberty.

Currently, 19 states and territories have no religious exemptions to civil child abuse and neglect statutes. Nevada and American Samoa have exemptions that do not specifically mention religion but could apply to it. For example, American Samoa’s statute states that investigators must consider “accepted child-rearing practices of the culture in which the child participates.”

The exemptions originated from federal requirements that no longer exist, growing out of the federal Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA), signed into law by President Richard Nixon in 1974. While CAPTA did not specifically mention religious exemptions, the requirements issued under it led to the development of these exemptions.

Source: Read the original report