September 30, 1994




M. Joycelyn Elders, Surgeon General
Hubert H. Humphrey Bldg., Rm. 736E
200 Independence Ave SW
Washington, D.C. 20201

                         in re: H.R. 4606, 
                         Appropriations Bill for Department of
                         Labor, Health & Human Services, 
                         Education & Related Agencies for 
                         Fiscal Year 1995.

Dr. Elders:
     The U. S. Senate and House passed H.R. 4606 on September 20,
1994, and it was sent to President Clinton for his signature
yesterday, September 29.

     Included in this was a special religious exemption for the
First Church of Christ Scientist (the Christian Scientists) so
that the various states may continue to permit parents to
withhold medical care from their children for religious reasons,
often substituting prayer.

     Diagnosed as a diabetic in 1977, I would have been dead by
now were it not for my daily insulin regime. In those last twenty
years our offices have received scores of reports of minor
diabetic children dying because insulin therapy was refused for
them by their parents. There have been many media reports on
these minor children, some being as young as eight or ten years
of age, who had no right to determine that they should live or
die. The decisions were made by parents after consulting Christ-
ian Scientist practitioners. In most instances, the parents --
who actually committed a murder by substituting prayer for
insulin -- have been charged, at most, with lesser crimes. 

     Although I am particularly sensitive to children with
diabetes, there are many other diseases which are unnecessarily
claiming children for death because of the religiously misguided.
These are childhood illnesses which, if they are diagnosed and
treated early, would not develop complications which lead to life
threatening situations. 

     For example, this summer an epidemic of measles, in a
religious school in the midwest, spread to persons in the
community who were not of the religious faith of those who
refused immunization and/or inoculation of their children. In
this instance, the decisions of the religious parents spread
measles well beyond their own families. The government, at any
level, must have the legal right to intervene when the lives of
children are at risk.

     Can you make a special appeal to President Clinton regarding
the provision in the bill which was introduced by the Christian
Scientist lobbyist, Phil Davis, through Rep. Lamar Smith (R-
Texas) who is himself a Christian Scientist? Rep. Smith was able
to get Mr. Davis to Rep. John Edward Porter (R-Illinois), who,
reared as a Christian Scientist, is now the senior Republican on
a subcommittee which handled this bill for the Appropriations
Committee. The next person in the chain was Rep. Neal Smith (D-
Iowa) who chairs the Appropriations Committee itself. Porter
wrote the proposed provision to assist the Christian Scientists
and Smith agreed to put the Porter provision into the bill.

     The provision would bar Human Health Services from requiring
states to either drop their religious exemptions for healing
through prayer or order medical care for children.

     In a Senate subcommittee, Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) herded
the measure through and the U. S. Senate approved Sen. Harkin's
language. This is especially tragic since defenseless children
are involved.

     You have a reputation for speaking up. American Atheists,
Inc. feels that prayer is an entirely useless substitution for
medication which has been proven to be appropriate - as in the
case of insulin and diabetes.

     Please help the children?


                              AMERICAN ATHEISTS, INC.



                              Madalyn O'Hair
                              Founder
MEMO'H:eis


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