Yuyun Lusiyani
In a quiet Idaho farmhouse, bathed in the dim light of an October 2023 evening, a sheriff’s deputy stepped into a scene of profound, yet eerily muted, grief. A newborn, Malachi, lay lifeless in his mother’s lap, covered by a blue blanket. The house, filled with adults and children perched on every available surface—from recliners to the wood-stove hearth—held a collective stillness, a silent vigil that transcended typical mourning. No one met the officer’s gaze; eyes were cast downward, fixed on the floor, or vaguely around the room, a palpable absence of outcry marking the tragedy. This somber tableau, captured by the deputy’s body camera, was not an isolated incident but a recurring pattern within the Followers of Christ sect, a faith-healing community protected by unique legislative exemptions in Idaho.
Malachi’s death, determined by autopsy to be from pneumonia and bleeding lungs, was, according to pediatricians who reviewed his records for ProPublica, entirely preventable with standard antibiotics and hospital care. His parents, adherents of the Followers of Christ, interpret several Bible verses literally, believing that God alone heals the faithful and that medical intervention interferes with divine will. This belief system dictated their choices, even as their infant son gasped for air, his small body turning blue from oxygen deprivation, his ribs starkly visible with each struggle. Thirteen months later, the same parents, the same farmhouse, the same silent congregation, would witness the death of their next newborn, Liam, from the identical treatable condition.
A Pattern of Preventable Loss: The ProPublica Investigation
ProPublica’s extensive investigation, involving death records from coroners and police across five Idaho counties and expert review by over a dozen pediatricians and birthing specialists, unveiled a disturbing trend. Between 2015 and 2025, at least 15 babies and children from the Followers of Christ sect died from illnesses that modern medicine could have successfully treated. This figure is almost certainly an undercount, as six additional death records were incomplete or unavailable, and in four other cases, experts could not definitively conclude preventability. Beyond childhood deaths, experts also identified numerous preventable losses of infants who died during birth or in utero close to their due dates, classified by coroners as stillbirths. Crucially, the investigation revealed a previously unreported phenomenon: at least five sets of parents within the sect have lost multiple children to these preventable conditions, a stark testament to the systemic nature of the issue.
The deaths were often prolonged and agonizing. Maicy, a 16-year-old girl who died on New Year’s Day 2019, weighed only 62 pounds and stood less than four feet tall, the size of a third grader. Her autopsy revealed a treatable pituitary tumor had ravaged her body, leading to severe anemia, organ damage, and stunted growth—a condition doctors said would have been evident and treatable much earlier in her childhood. She died wearing a diaper, lying on an absorbent pad, her T-shirt emblazoned with the word "LOVE." Other children endured similar suffering; some were sick for days, others for weeks or even years. Many died in their parents’ arms, experiencing pain and distress that medical professionals describe as profound.
The leading causes of death among these children – pneumonia, sepsis from common infections, and intestinal conditions – are rarely fatal in developed nations. For instance, the annual pneumonia-related death rate for infants in the U.S. is approximately 1 in 30,000 to 40,000. For Malachi and Liam’s family, with 12 children, the death rate from pneumonia was an astonishing 1 in 6, a figure more commonly associated with third-world countries, according to retired Idaho pediatrician Barton Adrian. Many of these infant deaths likely stemmed from Group B Streptococcus (GBS) infections, a condition routinely screened for in expectant mothers and easily treated with antibiotics, ensuring newborn safety.
Dallas, a 2-year-old, succumbed in 2020 to a bacterial infection that attacked a heart valve after six weeks of untreated illness. He suffered fevers, abdominal pain, vomiting, and swelling. Though born with a heart condition, experts confirmed the infection was treatable with antibiotics, and early medical intervention would have saved his life. These cases underscore a tragic commonality: the deaths almost never came without warning.
Idaho’s Unique Legal Landscape: A Shield for Faith Healing
In nearly any other Idaho household, such preventable deaths would trigger criminal investigations, potentially leading to charges of endangerment, injury, neglect, or even manslaughter. However, Idaho law, since the 1970s, has provided a specific exemption for parents belonging to faith-healing sects like the Followers of Christ. This legal loophole explicitly permits parents to choose prayer over medical care for their sick children, even if it results in death.
This legislative stance stands in stark contrast to neighboring Oregon, where similar religious groups exist. Oregon lawmakers removed their faith-healing exception to child abuse laws nearly three decades ago. The impact was immediate and significant: prosecutors and detectives in Oregon reported a notable increase in parents seeking medical care for their children after the change, demonstrating how external legal pressure can influence internal community practices.
Idaho, however, has consistently chosen a different path. Since 2014, repeated efforts to repeal or scale back the faith-healing exemption have been rejected by the state legislature. Instead, lawmakers have moved to further entrench "parental rights," codifying them into statute, banning vaccine requirements in schools, and making parental consent a prerequisite for minors’ medical care. Attempts to narrow the definition of "medical neglect" for all families to only the most life-threatening situations have, thankfully, failed, but the core exemption remains.
Canyon County Sheriff Kieran Donahue, a vocal opponent of these laws, has personally overseen investigations into the deaths of at least 10 Followers’ children since 2013. "This is needless," Donahue asserts. "This shouldn’t be happening." David Peterman, a retired Idaho pediatrician with 40 years of experience, including specialized training in child abuse and neglect, reviewed 18 of these deaths for ProPublica. He concluded that the vast majority "are the result of neglect and unequivocally preventable." Peterman expressed profound bewilderment at the legislature’s inaction: "It is beyond comprehension that the Idaho Legislature has refused to change the law. How is this tolerable? I don’t understand how there could be an exception in Idaho law that allows for these children to die."
The Unconventional Aftermath: Police Encounters
For law enforcement officers like Canyon County Sheriff’s Office Captain Chuck Gentry, responding to a child’s death in a Followers of Christ home presents a uniquely unsettling experience. Unlike typical death scenes, there is no frantic 911 call, no ambulance, no inconsolable parents exhibiting overt distress. Instead, a church elder or family member directly contacts the coroner. Upon arrival, officers consistently find a large congregation already assembled, often dozens of people, creating a silent vigil that can make it difficult for deputies to find parking or conduct private interviews.
The scene is devoid of conventional medical indicators: no children’s ibuprofen, no pediatrician’s number. Instead, a bottle of olive oil, used for anointing the ill, might be present. Officers offer condolences and conduct their legal duty to confirm that, under Idaho law, no crime has been committed. Yet, the emotional impact on first responders is significant. Gentry recalls the death of Jolene, a 3-month-old girl with a severe cleft palate and congenital heart defect. While doctors were divided on whether her heart condition was fully treatable, the lack of intervention for her cleft palate, which would have impacted her feeding and overall health, haunted him. Jolene died at an address that has become grimly familiar to local police, a site where children from four Followers families have died since 2017.
Gentry notes the "hover-y" presence of grandparents and other congregants, seemingly protective of the grieving parents. Only when isolated in another room do parents’ "normal behavior for someone who has lost a child" emerge – the mother crying, the father pacing. Yet, Gentry concludes, the overall context is "so bizarre that normal still isn’t normal."
This was evident in the death of Malone, Jolene’s toddler brother, in 2021. Malone, 16 months old, had suffered his entire life from an intestinal condition that caused severe malnourishment, a basketball-sized swollen belly, and lungs stunted to the size of a newborn’s. This condition, easily correctable with routine, minimally invasive surgery, led to his lungs and heart being compressed until they stopped beating. Detectives arriving at the scene found dozens of family and friends, Malone’s mother holding his covered body. Their interview was brief, the parents offering sparse details. The case was closed.
Disciples of a Different Path: The Followers of Christ
The Followers of Christ arrived in Idaho in 1899, two "wayfarers from Oklahoma" proclaiming themselves "disciples of a new religion." In an era of primitive and often dangerous frontier medicine, their reliance on faith healing, rooted in a literal interpretation of biblical passages like James 5:14 ("Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up"), offered an alternative to the unreliable medical practices of the time. Nathan Kangas, a patriarch in the Caldwell, Idaho, church, explains their belief that "the whole Scripture" informs their doctrine, pointing out that in Christ’s time, people "trusted in God to heal them."
The sect, which grew to become Idaho’s largest faith-healing religion before spreading to Oregon, operates with a loose, decentralized leadership structure. Congregations are independent, with families serving as the primary conduits for belief and ritual. Unlike many Christian denominations, the Followers do not proselytize; their growth comes almost exclusively through existing families, leading to a highly insular community with intermarriage and recurring surnames in public records.
Within this community, the decision to forgo medical care is not merely personal but deeply communal and theological. Kangas argues that parents must keep children away from doctors to set an example, preventing them from being "cursed later in life by turning to medicine." When prayers fail and a child dies, it is accepted as God’s divine will. Conversely, a recovery without medical intervention is seen as validation of their doctrine. Kangas, who lost his wife and their last child during labor 23 years ago, and three of his 65 grandchildren, frames life on Earth as "a preparing ground," quoting Psalms: "Precious in the eyes of the Lord are the death of His saints," and James: "let your laughter be turned to mourning." He states, "It isn’t necessarily that we’re supposed to have a joyous life here. It’s actually quite the opposite."
This interpretation, however, is not accepted by mainstream Christian denominations today. Laren Eells, who left an Idaho Followers of Christ church a decade ago, believes his eyes were "completely clouded with presupposition" due to "cherry-picked passages of biblical Scripture." Eells witnessed his father survive what he believes was a burst appendix, solidifying his early faith. But as an adult, he watched his younger brother die from an ear infection that spread to his blood, a condition "some antibiotics could have probably taken care of, relatively simple." The profound grief of "praying and wringing my hands" while his brother slowly died ultimately led him to question the sect’s tenets.
The fear of ostracization also plays a significant role. Former members report that seeking medical care can lead to shunning, reprimand, or exclusion from social events. While Kangas downplays this, suggesting "a few people here and there" might react strongly, he acknowledges that a single doctor’s visit is seen as a weakness that requires repentance and a commitment to never seek medical care again.
Broader Implications and the Unresolved Debate
The tragic deaths within the Followers of Christ sect in Idaho highlight a profound conflict between religious freedom and the state’s obligation to protect its most vulnerable citizens. The persistence of Idaho’s faith-healing exemption, despite clear evidence of preventable child deaths and calls for reform from law enforcement and medical professionals, raises critical ethical and legal questions.
Critics argue that the exemption effectively grants religious groups a license to medically neglect children, violating fundamental children’s rights to life and adequate care. They contend that while adults have the right to choose their medical care based on religious beliefs, children, who cannot make such choices, should be afforded the full protection of the law. The contrast with Oregon’s successful repeal of similar laws provides a compelling model for how legislative change can encourage safer outcomes without necessarily infringing upon core religious practices for adults.
The debate in Idaho remains deeply entrenched, with "parental rights" often invoked to defend the current statutes. However, as Dr. Peterman poignantly asks, "How is this tolerable?" The human cost, measured in the lost lives of children like Malachi, Liam, Maicy, Malone, and many others, underscores the urgent need for a reevaluation of laws that allow faith to supersede the most basic tenets of child protection and modern medicine. Until Idaho lawmakers choose to prioritize the lives of these vulnerable children, the silent vigils in farmhouses across the state will continue, a somber testament to a legal loophole with deadly consequences.
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