The First Church of Christ, Scientist was founded by Mary Baker Eddy over a century ago in Boston, Massachusetts. Her discovery of the idea of the science of Christianity came shortly after a fall on the ice. After consulting doctors and receiving grim prognoses, she turned to her Bible and read about the healing powers of Jesus Christ. According to history, she was instantly healed; thus began the Christian Science movement. The church embraces and upholds more than just the doctrine of faith healing, but it is this facet of the church that has, within the past decade, come under the intense scrutiny of the medical community. The right to forego or deny medical treatment for oneself or one's child is protected under religious freedom laws; the controversy begins when children die because of these laws, through the withholding of medical treatment. The view of the church is that they are protected by religious freedom; the view of the medical community is that denying medical care to children constitutes abuse.

Today, the Christian Scientist church is divided into two followings, one out of Boston, the First Church of Christ, Scientist, and one out of Denver, now called the

But child protection advocates have had some successes in states like California and South Dakota. In February, 1989, South Dakota became the first state to repeal all its religious exemptions to child neglect laws as well as to the metabolic testing of newborns5. While the church claims religious exemptions from provisions of child abuse laws are a First Amendment right, courts consistently have ruled that religious freedom does not allow parents to withhold life-saving medical care from children10. In most instances, cases of religious healing are never heard in court, and state laws continue to recognize and give credit to Christian Science practices. Despite their inability to diagnose, Christian science practitioners in many states are allowed to sign certificates for sick leave and disability payments10. Unlike medical practitioners, church practitioners and nurses are not licensed and do not have to meet any legal standard of practice. None of the approximately 30 Christian Science nursing homes in the United States is licensed by any state10.

Since 1980, more than 40 criminal prosecutions in the United States have been brought against parents for the death of a child resulting from religiously motivated medical neglect8. The first civil case to go to trial was the case of Ian Lundman, an 11-year-old who died in 1989 of dehydration and ketoacidosis resulting from medically untreated diabetes8. Ian's father sued the church and the McKowns, Ian's mother and stepfather, for the wrongful death of a child. The church was ordered to pay $11.3 million in damages to Ian's father7-9.

Christian Science practices are protected by religious freedom laws, including religious exemptions to child neglect and immunization laws. In 1990, 43 states plus the District of Columbia had religious exemption laws5, and similar laws are still being passed despite convictions of Christian Science parents like the McKowns. In some states, such as Colorado, laws have been passed that allow religious healing to be substituted, provided that healers submit bills to patients that can be deducted as medical expenses on federal tax returns or reimbursed by insurance companies. Christian Science treatment is the only religious healing that has been granted this status5.

Trial testimony also indicated that while the church forbids medical care for children with such critical illnesses, it allowed Robyn's mother to get obstetric care that included anesthesia at his birth and let his father be treated by dentists for a root canal and for impacted wisdom teeth5.

Endtime Center. A core concept in church doctrine is faith healing, or prayer healing; this practice is what the church is most known for. There is nothing in the doctrine to forbid anyone from seeking medical healing. Rather, there is a strong sense that when one does seek medical healing one has turned one's back on the power of prayer1. When Christian Scientists put their faith in the power of prayer, it is thought that it would be hypocritical also to put their faith in medicine1. As defined by Mary Baker Eddy, disease is "a belief, a latent illusion of mortal mind"2. The church's view on medical treatment stems from this logic; if sickness is in one's head, drugs and other therapeutic treatments will not cure. The cure lies in setting your spiritual life right through intense prayer. In her major book, Science and Health, Eddy argues: "To ignore God as of little use in sickness is a mistake. Instead of thrusting Him aside i

Some common words found in the essay are:
Christian Science, Christian Scientists, Colin Newmark, Baker Eddy, South Dakota, Health Eddy, christian science, Endtime Center, Christian Century, McKowns Colorado, Health Reports11, medical diagnosis, medical care, christian scientists, religious freedom, health care, religious exemptions, protected religious freedom, care children, science practices, prayer healing, christian science church, christian science practitioners, medical care children, christian science practices,
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