By ELIZABETH MEEKS
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Rip staff writer

It is a given that parents love their children and, in most instances, strive to make the best decisions regarding the heath and well-being of their children.
As parents, we are given the gift to either provide medical care for our children or choose alternative means, each with its own benefits and downfalls.
I am deeply saddened by the recent death of Wisconsin resident Madeline Kara Neumann, who passed away last month from a treatable type of diabetes at the age of 11.
Neumann died because her parents choose faith over seeking medical attention, which is not only tragic but also criminal.
Should her parents be held criminally responsible for their child’s death and be sentenced to prison? Maybe the children remaining in the house should be taken away. I do not have a solution to this complex situation; however, I do believe there should be consequences for the parents, because no matter how you dress it up, Neumann died due to the negligence of her parents.
I am sure the parents are devastated and are in great pain due to the loss of their beloved.
It is a pain that I cannot imagine nor want to experience, however, my compassion stops there. Her death was not due to an unforeseeable circumstance, such as an automobile accident or random vicious intruder attack.
Ironically, her death is blanketed under “faith.”
Religion is a sensitive topic at any dinner table, and I respect people’s right to believe whatever is right for them.
What gets me about people who use prayer or religious beliefs over seeking medical care is this: they are the same people fighting to save a fetus that is barely formed, yet they do nothing to ensure the health of children who are living here and now, who laugh and run and are joyful in their existence.
Prayer is a valuable tool; however, at no time should it supersede medical attention. We live in the greatest country in the world with cutting-edge technology, and because of the development of medicine, people are able to live with ailments that would at one time be certain death.
Perhaps it is God who gave doctors the knowledge of technology creating “medical miracles” so we can live longer. We do not take advantage of that and incorporate prayer as back up.
As medical attention does not solve every illness, I concede that people still die even when the best medical procedures are sought out.
However, when a child dies needlessly, the world is a sadder place. Madeline Kara Neumann is now a tragic statistic; her life ended early because she did not receive the medical attention she needed and deserved.