Oregon Couple Indicted for Failing to Seek Medical Treatment for Dying Child

An Oregon City couple has been indicted for manslaughter and criminal mistreatment for failing to seek medical treatment for their seriously ill infant. Carl Worthington, 28, and Raylene Worthington, 25, surrendered Friday to charges that their inaction killed their infant daughter. The couple was held on $250,000 bail each and their first scheduled court appearance is this afternoon.

The Worthingtons are members of Oregon City's Followers of Christ Church, which believes in faith healing. Following church practices, when a church member falls ill, they are prayed for and anointed with oil. The Worthington's daughter, 15-month-old Ava, died March 2nd from bacterial bronchial pneumonia and infection, which could have easily been treated with antibiotics.

Prior to 1999, Oregon had a "faith healing defense" for the charges the Worthingtons are facing. The Oregon State Legislature eliminated the defense after an investigation by The Oregonian, which reported that Oregon City's children had a mortality rate of 26 times that of the general population. The Oregonian, with the help of a retired medical examiner, found that a third of the children buried over the course of a decade in Oregon City could have survived if medical treatment had been sought.