A thought-provoking discussion of the conflict between society’s right to protect all children and the constitutional...
“Every year, tens of thousands of Americans refuse medical care for their children in the name of God,” writes Offit (Vaccinology and Pediatrics/Univ. of Pennsylvania School of Medicine; Do You Believe in Magic: The Sense and Nonsense of Alternative Medicine, 2013, etc.) in this exposé.
As recently as 2013, writes the author, “the CDC identified thirty-thousand children whose parents had chosen not to vaccinate them for religious reasons.” Offit examines the beliefs and practices of the Christian Scientists for whom prayer, rather than medicine, is a tenet of their faith as it relates to sickness. He also looks at the Catholic Church, which still sanctions exorcism but not abortion; instances of unsanitary circumcision practices among certain groups of ultra-Orthodox Jews in New York City; and faith-healing cults such as the Faith Tabernacle Congregation, which also opposes vaccination. Targeting what he terms “destructive cults” that claim to act in the name of God when they demand that members rely solely on prayer and reject medical treatment, the author clarifies that he is not making a broadside argument against religion. He is sympathetic to parents whose decision to refuse medical treatment leads to a child's death, but he supports the right of the courts to override such decisions in order to protect a child's life. Offit recounts court battles in which medical authorities obtained injunctions allowing them to treat children—e.g., administering necessary blood transfusions. In 1967, a Massachusetts court sentenced a mother to five years of probation because she failed to allow medical treatment for her daughter, who subsequently died as a result. A few years later, Congress passed the Child Abuse Protection and Treatment Act, which included the right of children to lifesaving medical treatment but exempted parents or guardians who were adhering to “the tenets and practices of a recognized church.”
A thought-provoking discussion of the conflict between society’s right to protect all children and the constitutional guarantee of religious freedom.Pub Date: March 10, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-465-08296-4
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Basic Books
Review Posted Online: Dec. 20, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2015
PROFILES
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.
Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1955
ISBN: 0670717797
Page Count: -
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1955
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