After trial, outreach to faith-healing church

OREGON CITY (RNS) After prosecuting members of the Followers of Christ church in the faith-healing deaths of two children, it’s time to reach out to the church and find ways to prevent such tragedies, said John Foote, district attorney for Clackamas County, Ore. “We want to work with the members of the church to make […]

OREGON CITY (RNS) After prosecuting members of the Followers of Christ church in the faith-healing deaths of two children, it’s time to reach out to the church and find ways to prevent such tragedies, said John Foote, district attorney for Clackamas County, Ore.

“We want to work with the members of the church to make sure children are receiving appropriate medical care and not suffering needlessly,” Foote said.

It’s not clear how the church will respond to the overture.


Jeffrey and Marci Beagley were found guilty on Feb. 2 of criminally negligent homicide for failing to provide medical care to their teenage son, who died of complications from an undiagnosed urinary blockage.

The Beagleys’s daughter, Raylene Worthington, and her husband, Carl, were found not guilty of second-degree manslaughter last summer in the death of their 15-month-old daughter, who died of a blood infection. Carl Worthington was convicted of criminal mistreatment, a misdemeanor, for failing to provide adequate medical care.

Child deaths among the Followers of Christ have been a long-standing concern.

Church officials have declined to respond to questions submitted to Steven Ungar, a Portland attorney hired by the church two years ago who serves as their public intermediary. Church leaders, and church members in general, do not speak to reporters.

People familiar with faith-healing churches said Foote is on the right track.

“I’m not convinced that prosecuting parents after children die is the way to go” if the goal is to change behavior, said Shawn Peters, a University of Wisconsin at Madison teacher and an expert on law and religion.

“There needs to be a community-based effort … to engage in a dialogue” with church members, Peters said. “The tragedy of these cases is that parents aren’t trying to harm their children.”

Courtney Campbell, an Oregon State University professor who focuses on religion and culture, said “there are points of common ground” that could lead to an understanding that accommodates both sides.

The Followers have no problem using dentists or eye doctors, Campbell said. “It’s not hard to make the theological step” that other trained health care providers are acceptable, he said.


In 2004, church leaders responded positively to a meeting with officials.

Five church representatives met with prosecutors, police and medical examiners to discuss the revisions in Oregon law, parental responsibilities and the role of law enforcement and church members when a death occurs.

They discussed the importance of preserving evidence after a death and how police conduct investigations, said Greg Horner, chief deputy district attorney for Clackamas County.

Church officials agreed to promptly notify law enforcement officials when a death occurred. They also said they would post a notice at the church explaining the law and the investigation that a death might prompt.

The meeting “was very amicable, and they were cooperative,” Horner said.

Horner was also the prosecutor in the recent trials of Followers of Christ parents whose children died after they relied on faith healing rather than medical intervention.

Dozens of church members’ children have died of treatable conditions since the 1950s, and a few mothers died in childbirth. The deaths led the Oregon legislature to modify state law in 1999 to eliminate legal immunity in some cases for parents who treat their children solely with faith healing — prayer, anointing with oil, fasting and laying on of hands to treat illness and disease.

Although some church members say seeking medical treatment shows a lack of faith, Campbell said other congregations faced with aggressive prosecution have found ways to adjust their beliefs.


“Other faith communities have been able to reinterpret their theology … or move in that direction,” Campbell said. “No one wants to see these children die.”

(Steve Mayes is a staff writer for The Oregonian in Portland, Ore.)

Donate to Support Independent Journalism!

Donate Now!