Pray for the Dying

Submitted for your infuriation: the sad case of eleven year old Kara Neumann, a Wisconsin girl who became ill some 30 days ago suffering from a treatable form of Type 1 diabetes and finally slipped into a coma and died while her family did nothing. Here's CNN's Nancy Grace reporting on the story.

Her family claims they prayed for her to get better. In my book that's criminal neglect that lead directly to her death. Religious freedom? The family doesn't identify with any particular religious group, so I guess they're claiming the right to be divinely ignorant? Help me out here, I can't seem to remember which religious group that they're not affiliated with that teaches that a child be allowed to die as a result of parental stupidity.

Anyone remember "God helps those who help themselves"? It's like the story of the man who was trapped on his roof during a flood. Someone came by in a boat and offered to rescue him. "No thanks", he replied, "I'll wait. God will save me". The flood waters rise almost to his roof and a helicopter comes by and offers to pick him up. "I'll wait", insists the man,"God will save me". The waters rise and the man drowns. Upon his arrival in Heaven he asks God why He didn't save him. God tells him, "I came to you twice, in the boat and then in the helicopter, and you refused me both times".

I believe in the power of prayer, but what about the power of God-given rational thought to go along with it? I'm earnestly hoping that charges be swiftly brought against these morons who believe that their neglect of an innocent that resulted in her death can be hidden behind the veil of religious freedom.

It would be one thing if they chose to do nothing about their own demise, then they would simply be eligible for a Darwin Award (given posthumously to those who improve the human gene pool by removing themselves from it), but this despicable inaction only makes them eligible for prison.

But maybe if they pray really hard for a good lawyer....