A Policy Report on The Need for the US Department of Health and Human Services to Require Repeal of Religious Exemptions to Medical Care for Children

Preface

This report comprehensively evaluates current Department of Health and Human Services policy regarding state religious exemptions to medical care for children.

The Report's analysis demonstrates that the Department's policy of accepting and perpetuating the state exemptions must bear major responsibility for the unnecessary suffering, disability, and death of children from medically treatable or curable illnesses.

The Report concludes that there is no humane alternative but for HHS to require repeal of all state religious exemptions to medical care and immunizations for children.

Table of Contents

1. HHS Policy on State Religious Exemptions
   
   
2. HHS Policy Jeopardizes the Lives of Children
   HHS Policy on Transferring Responsibility for Providing Medical Care From Parents to the Reporting System, Coupled With the Reporting System's Inherent Difficulty in Detecting Medical Neglect, Flagrantly Jeopardizes the Lives of Children
   
   
3. Civil Exemptions Undermine Parental Legal Responsibility
   Despite Denials by HHS, Civil Exemptions Undermine Parental Legal Responsibility to Provide Care
   
   
4. HHS's Current Attempts to Clarify Are Limited and Problematic
   HHS's Current Attempts to Clarify the Impact of the Exemptions on State Reporting Systems are Meeting With Only Limited and Problematic Results and May Be Intrinsically Incapable of Success
   
   
5. Conclusion
   
   
6. Appendix
   Cases of Childhood Deaths Due to Parental Religious Objection to Necessary Medical Care