Nearly every member of the Christian Science church in Concord has a story of healing. Some are emotional; many are physical. Members say they prayed and were cured of illnesses from heart disease to appendicitis. But stories of Christian Science faith healing do not always turn out so well.

Throughout the country, there have been claims that children died because parents denied them medical treatment for religious reasons. Rita Swan, president of the nonprofit advocacy group Children's Healthcare Is a Legal Duty, or CHILD, says Christian Science killed her son. A study Swan co-wrote tracked 172 child deaths caused by "religion-motivated medical neglect" over 20 years; she attributed 28 to Christian Scientists.

"Christian Science is asking to be a legal substitute for medical care, but they don't want any responsibilities that go along with medical care," Swan said.

Conscientious objection to medical treatment is not reserved for Christian Scientists. Jehovah's Witnesses, for example, do not accept blood transfusions. But parents objecting to medical treatment raises delicate questions about the balance between personal liberties and religious freedom on one hand, and the responsibilities that state and local institutions have to protect children on the other.

"There's a lot of potential for tension between personal and family religious beliefs and community religious beliefs, and the interest of the community at large represented by public health law," said Nancy Berlinger, deputy director and research associate at The Hastings Center, a bioethics research institute in Garrison, N.Y. "We have freedom of religion in the U.S., but with freedom comes responsibility."

Christian Scientists believe in "spiritual healing," a tradition in which praying and striving to understand the truth of God are thought to cure mental and physical ills. Children typically do not get vaccinated. They may not even see doctors.

"Most Christian Scientists have been able to see the effectiveness of prayer in their care for their children," said George Reed, a member of the Christian Science Committee on Publication for New Hampshire. "Typically, most children are cared for soundly through Christian Science care and treatment. . . . The key is daily preventive care. We work to keep them healthy through spiritual treatment. It's probably harder to do this sort of care than to bring a child to a doctor."

At a recent Christian Science meeting in Concord, for example, member Susan Wolfe said when her oldest son was a child, he awoke at night with ear pain. Wolfe said she sang hymns and prayers with him and brought him to her bed. "I was reaching out to God in prayer to understand his presence and love for the little one," Wolfe said. She had faith that like a mother, God comforts children. Ultimately, her child slept through the night and never had ear pain again, she said.

There is little evidence, beyond the anecdotal, whether this type of healing works. Two religious experts contacted for this story declined to pass judgment, citing respect for individual religious beliefs.

The Rev. Benedict Guevin, professor of theology at St. Anselm College and a Roman Catholic priest, said his own tradition believes that God gave man reason. "When we talk about God healing, maybe he's using our minds and our hands to bring that healing about," Guevin said.

Guevin said he was upset watching a colleague, a Christian Scientist, die of curable skin cancer because she refused to have it removed, allowing it to metastasize to her interior organs. But, he said, "I admired her faith. . . . Whatever faith claims they make about their own traditions, I'm not in a position to say that's false. I don't know if it's false. I know it's not my tradition."

Berlinger said prayer or meditation may make a person feel better, but there is no evidence that it cures disease. "When some of the anecdotal claims are subjected to scientific protocol, they don't hold up," she said. "It doesn't mean people won't believe in them, it doesn't necessarily mean the belief is wrong. It's just wrong to apply it to other people, to say because I believe it, it's true for everyone in all circumstances."

Local Christian Scientists said it is up to individuals whether to seek medical attention for themselves and their children. Reed said believers and their children can choose to go to a medical doctor and will not be ostracized or penalized if they do so. "There are some Christian Science parents I know who bring their children to doctors, and that's fine," Reed said. "There's definitely freedom of choice."

Personally, Reed said, he has rarely needed a doctor. "I've always been able to rely on prayer," he said.

Legal exceptions

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