At least 15 babies and children from a faith-healing sect in Idaho died between 2015 and 2025 from illnesses that doctors could have successfully treated, according to an analysis by ProPublica shared with more than a dozen pediatricians and birthing specialists. The deaths occurred while Idaho's criminal and civil laws, dating to the 1970s, exempt parents who belong to faith-healing sects such as Followers of Christ from prosecution for failing to provide medical care to their children.
In two cases documented by ProPublica, siblings Malachi and Liam died 13 months apart in 2023 and 2024 from pneumonia and bleeding lungs. Both were newborns whose parents belong to the Followers of Christ church. An autopsy found Malachi's death was preventable with antibiotics and hospital care, according to doctors who reviewed his records.
Idaho law states that parents cannot endanger, injure or neglect their children or let them suffer. Doing so is a crime, and if a child dies as a result, a parent could face manslaughter charges. However, those statutes do not apply when parents belong to faith-healing religions that interpret the Bible as requiring prayer over medical treatment.
What the Right Is Saying
Conservative lawmakers and religious liberty advocates argue that Idaho's approach protects constitutionally protected exercise of religion from government overreach. Representative Tom Higgins of Meridian, who has opposed efforts to narrow the exemption, said parents in faith-healing communities hold sincere beliefs about divine will that deserve legal protection. "This is about respecting the free exercise of religion guaranteed by the First Amendment," Higgins said. "The state cannot and should not be in the business of second-guessing how faithful families practice their religion."
Parental rights advocates say Idahoans broadly support limiting government involvement in family medical decisions. The Idaho Parents Right to Care Coalition, which has lobbied against narrowing faith-healing exemptions since 2014, argues that any change could open the door to broader government interference in parental decision-making. "Once you start carving out exceptions based on what officials deem acceptable religious practice, where does it end?" said coalition director Ruth Ann Pemberton.
Defenders of the current law note that parents in these communities face intense social pressure from their congregations and genuinely believe they are following biblical mandate by relying on prayer rather than medical intervention. They argue that criminalizing sincere religious practice would be counterproductive and potentially unconstitutional.
What the Left Is Saying
Democratic lawmakers and child welfare advocates say Idaho's exemption enables preventable deaths and represents a failure of state government to protect vulnerable children. Senator Melissa Wintz of Boise said the ProPublica findings demonstrate why the legislature should revisit the decades-old law. "These are not abstract policy discussions," Wintz said. "Real children are dying real deaths that could be prevented with basic medical care."
The American Academy of Pediatrics has long opposed religious exemptions to child abuse and neglect laws, arguing that faith-based refusals of medical treatment for treatable conditions constitute neglect regardless of parental motivation. The National Center for Child Abuse and Neglect, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, classifies withholding medically necessary care based on religious belief as a form of medical neglect.
Oregon provides a counterexample, advocates note. Lawmakers there removed the faith-healing exception nearly 30 years ago after similar deaths were documented. Prosecutors and detectives in that state told ProPublica that more parents chose to seek medical care for their children after the legal change. "The law changed behavior," said Portland-area prosecutor Karen Korematsu. "Parents who had previously refused all medical intervention began taking their children to doctors."
What the Numbers Show
ProPublica gathered death records from coroners and police in five Idaho counties and shared them with pediatric specialists. The experts concluded that at least 15 children from faith-healing families died preventable deaths between 2015 and 2025, including newborns Malachi and Liam. The actual number is likely higher because researchers could not evaluate six additional deaths due to incomplete coroner records, and four cases where experts said they couldn't determine preventability with confidence.
Since 2014, Idaho legislators have rejected five separate bills that would have narrowed the faith-healing exemption. In the same period, the state has enacted legislation strengthening parental rights over children's medical care, including a ban on vaccine requirements for schools and childcare facilities. The state's definition of reportable child neglect does not include religious refusal of medical treatment.
Oregon recorded 28 preventable deaths from faith-healing communities in the decade before removing its exemption in 1997. In the decade following the legal change, that number dropped to three. Washington state also eliminated its faith-healing exception in 1993 after a similar pattern of documented child deaths.
The Bottom Line
The ProPublica report adds new documentation to an ongoing debate about when religious freedom ends and government responsibility to protect children begins. Idaho remains one of fewer than 10 states with explicit criminal exemptions for faith-based medical neglect, according to the Child Welfare League of America. Advocates on both sides expect the issue will return to the Idaho legislature in the next session. Watch for committee hearings on child welfare oversight and any bills that would require reporting of children dying from untreated illness in religious households.
The experts who reviewed death records could not evaluate six additional cases due to missing or incomplete documentation, suggesting gaps in how the state tracks mortality among children in faith-healing communities.