A couple pleaded not guilty to murder in the death of their daughter, who passed away mere hours after her birth.
Sarah and Travis Mitchell are part of the Followers of Christ, an Oregonian-based faith-healing movement who refuse routine medical treatments and interventions in favor of prayer.
In March, Sarah prematurely gave birth at home to a set of twins, who required immediate medical attention. One little girl died because the couple refused. A church elder phoned the medical examiner’s office to report the death.
Sixty people were in the home at the time of the birth.
“60 people. There wasn’t one person there who could have said, ‘Maybe we should get some care for this child?’ It’s so sad. It’s unbelievable that this is still happening,” Former State Rep. Carolyn Tomei says.
Oregon maintains a rough relationship with the faith-healing movement. In 1997, the state enacted a religious defense to first- and second-degree manslaughter. Lawmakers repealed the defense in 2011.
The Oregonian reports 78 children died between 1955 and 1998 in the Followers of Christ Church in Oregon City. During that same time, 12 children died in an Idaho affiliate of the Followers of Christ.
Despite the legalities surrounding the process, Followers of Christ continue to practice exclusive faith healing.
Eric Tonsfeldt, the county deputy medical examiner who responded to the elder’s call, tells investigators it is “very common, and in fact the norm” for a Followers of Christ member to call the Medical Examiner’s Office directly when someone in the church community died.
“It’s not just that couple. But it’s all the other people there. Their families and other people in their church who were supporting them and not getting care for that child. There should be some punishment there also,” Tomei says. “What kind of a cruel God would say it’s OK for these children to die in pain? Without any kind of care? I just, I can’t understand it.”
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