Faith-healing Oregon couple will serve jail time in death of newborn son

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — An Oregon City couple was sentenced to 30 days in jail on Monday for failing to provide medical care to their infant child.

They each pleaded guilty to criminal mistreatment in the first degree in Clackamas County Circuit Court on Monday. In addition to the 30-day sentence, each was also sentenced to five years of supervised probation following the jail time.

As KOIN 6 News previously reported, Blair Edwards and Taylor Edwards’ newborn child died after the couple opted for faith-healing in lieu of medical treatment.

“Oregon law is extremely clear; parents are required to protect their children,” said Clackamas County District Attorney John Wentworth in a statement.

“We have and will continue to prosecute members of this church or any other person who fails to seek necessary medical treatment for a child in their care.”

Blair Edwards, 37, and Taylor Edwards, 32, are both members of the Followers of Christ Church, according to the statement. The organization relies on prayer and faith-based healing rituals, and rejects professional medical treatment.

Their infant son Hayden fell ill just 36 hours after he was born. He had stopped eating, his lips turned blue and he had trouble breathing. Friends and family visited to pray and anoint the child with olive oil. After hours of struggling, the child died. No medical care was administered.

The child’s cause of death was later determined to be acute bilirubin encephalopathy due to hyperbilirubinemia, a neurological complication that occurs in newborns when high levels of bilirubin accumulate in the brain, according to the district attorney’s office.

“He was surrounded in a bedroom by people who loved him very much, but it’s those same people who sat there for over five hours and refused to do anything to help that young child,” a Clackamas County prosecutor said. “Religion is no defense for child neglect, abuse… and in some cases, homicide.”

In a prepared statement read for the court, Blair Edwards said, “We should have reached out for medical care when Hayden went into medical distress.”

“The death of our beautiful and precious son Hayden has provided us a recognition that medical care for a child for preserving life is a value that we understand is important and we also ask the members of our church to take our loss as motivation and ask you to reach out for medical intervention and care for the physical well-being of your children,” she said. “Going forward, we will clearly be providing medical care for all our children.”

“The Edwards must comply with numerous requirements to ensure their four surviving children receive adequate medical care. The conditions include maintaining health insurance, regular medical check-ups with an accredited pediatrician, following all medical recommendations and providing necessary and adequate medical treatment for their children,” the Clackamas County DA’s Office added.

Because the cause of the child’s hyperbilirubinemia could not be determined, prosecutors were unable to pursue additional charges, according to the statement from the district attorney’s office.

“Even though we cannot prove beyond a reasonable doubt that their failure to act caused the death of young Hayden, we believe that the probability is high that if they had taken that child to the hospital, Hayden would be here today with them,” the prosecutor said.

Members of the Followers of Christ church have been convicted six times in Clackamas County Circuit Court since 2008 for failing to provide children with adequate medical care. Of those cases, five of the children died.