Pam Wiggins wrote:

>Ruth,
>Your FTT baby case is a classic example of the DEADLY HARM these so-called
>religious people are doing. This issue really gets to me.  It is not God's
>way to starve His children by restricting nursing to a 3 hour schedule.
>These babies are STARVING TO DEATH.  Yes, these cases need to reported.
 How?

Isn't it a law in most (all?) states that child abuse *must* be reported to
child protective services?  I certainly don't advocate rushing to report
parents at the first hint of rigidity, with no effort to educate them first,
but allowing a child literally to starve to death is abuse, no matter whose
philosophy the parents think they're following. Surely the right to religious
freedom stops short of allowing physical harm to children. This baby must
have been seriously underweight at the two month peds exam.  Why didn't the
pediatrician follow up?  If s/he didn't want to report the parents, s/he
could have  hospitalized the baby "to rule out illness," gotten some food
into her, and maybe ordered a social service or psych consult to help sort
out what to do.

Judy Dunlap, RNC, BA, IBCLC