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I've heard there have been cases of children who died because their parents though prayer was just the medicine. what does exactly the USC say about religious freedom?
yea, that a very good answer, but the problem are the cases when the help would get hindered by protracted lawsuits. in my country, although we give a considerable amount of freedom to some unreasonable religious practices, a child's life would always be put ahead of his/her parents' religious freedom, since, first of all, the child will also eventually have that same religious freedom, and he/she might not choose to follow his/her parents' beliefs. so my reasoning is - should a child, having his/her own free will, be bound to an unreasonable and highly abusive option of those who have power over him/her because he/she is too young. I don't know your views, and i'm agnostic, but if a had a religion, and if I had to choose between my child and my god, I wouldn't hesitate.
The United States was built with freedom in mind. The constitution gives us freedom of speech and limited free will. Jehovah's Witnesses, or any other US citizens, are given the right to refuse medical treatment on the basis of religious or moral beliefs. Because minors are not considered capable of their own decision making in the United States, the parents are supposed to decide for them. There is little we can do about this without causing a huge religious/political mess.
Our rights do not come from the Bible or Christianity. Our revolution happened at the tail end of the Enlightenment when the leaders drew inspiration from Renaissance philosophers and political thinkers. You can find far more parallels between our Consitution and the writings of Hobbes, Locke, Montesquieu and Voltaire than from the Bible.
This isn't always the case. Individuals have the right to refuse any medical treatment and parents have the right to refuse medical treatment for their kids. Doctors often get court orders allowing treatment when the parents refusal would endanger or greatly harm their kids.
My guess is because the US is pretty much a Christian country. Yes it has a variety of other religions and ethnicities but Christianity is the main religion and is pretty much the base of all rights and beliefs.
I didn't say anything about the Bible. I meant most Americans base their opinions of them on their religion.
true. bible is not exactly the source of inpiration for the cause of religious freedom.
I just want to say, this is an excellent question.
