Faith, Neglect, and the Fight to Save a Child in a Secretive Religious Sect

Oregon law, which removed spiritual healing as a legal defense for child neglect, proved vital in saving a premature infant after her twin died in a faith-healing sect. Following the 2017 death of a newborn in a closed religious community, authorities used the state’s mandate to intervene and compel medical care for the surviving twin.

A medical examiner’s discovery

On the night of March 5, 2017, deputy medical examiner Eric Tonsfeldt arrived at a pistachio-green house in Oregon City to investigate the death of a newborn named Ginnifer. ProPublica reported that the baby’s mother, Sarah Mitchell, was a member of the Followers of Christ, a sect that historically forbids medical intervention. The infant had been born at home without prenatal care, delivered by three women with no medical training.

Tonsfeldt found the family evasive. While they insisted the baby had stopped breathing suddenly, investigators later recovered text messages showing members of the sect had been aware of the infant’s respiratory distress shortly after birth.

One message explicitly requested prayers because the baby was “really bad,” while another advised the group to delete the digital evidence. The father later told investigators he did not call 911 because the situation was “in God’s hands.”

The second twin’s rescue

While examining the deceased infant, who weighed only 3.5 pounds, Tonsfeldt grew suspicious about the family’s behavior. He asked for coffee to buy time, and during that delay, a grandfather asked if it would make a difference if the baby had a twin. Tonsfeldt eventually discovered the surviving sister, Evelyn, in a dark bathroom, where women were attempting to feed her with an eyedropper.

The baby was in severe distress, and the family initially refused to seek help. According to ProPublica, the situation only shifted when police arrived and delivered an ultimatum: take the infant to the hospital or authorities would remove her by force. Evelyn was subsequently admitted to a Portland neonatal intensive care unit, where she was treated for respiratory distress syndrome.

Shifting legal standards in Oregon

The intervention was possible only because of significant legislative changes in Oregon. For decades, the state allowed faith-healing defenses in cases of child death, but public outcry following a series of preventable fatalities in the 1990s forced a change. In 1999, the state removed spiritual treatment as a defense for second-degree manslaughter and criminal mistreatment.

The legislative pressure continued as prosecutors began challenging the sect’s practices more aggressively.

In 2008, a father was convicted of criminal mistreatment after his 15-month-old daughter died from an untreated infection. By 2011, the Oregon Legislature eliminated the spiritual defense for any crime involving a child. The Oregon Legislature has since maintained these strict standards, which experts note have contributed to a significant decline in child deaths within the sect.

A Newborn Died in a Faith-Healing Sect. The State — and One Ex-Believer — Stepped in to Save Her Twin — Photo: newsbreak.com

“Spiritual care should never be practiced at the expense of a child’s life,” a Christian Science church official wrote to state lawmakers in 2011.

The cost of isolation

The Mitchells were eventually charged with murder by neglect and criminal mistreatment. Following the legal proceedings, authorities had to determine custody for Evelyn. They placed her with Marshall and Jennifer Phillips, a couple who had also been raised in the Followers of Christ. However, Marshall Phillips was not a typical member; he had previously broken with the sect’s doctrine by taking his own ill son to a hospital.

This decision, which led to his eventual departure from the group, made him an unlikely but suitable guardian in the eyes of the state.

The case of Evelyn and the Phillips family illustrates the tension between religious autonomy and state protection.

While Oregon has successfully used the law to intervene, similar communities in states like Idaho, where laws still protect parents who rely solely on faith healing, continue to see higher rates of preventable child deaths, as documented by ProPublica.

The legal proceedings involving the Phillips family and their role in Evelyn’s life remain ongoing.