OREGON CITY, Ore. (AP) — For the fourth time in recent years, members of a Clackamas County church that shuns medical care are on trial.
The Oregonian reports (http://bit.ly/nb1eDm) that the case centers on David Hickman, who was born prematurely with underdeveloped lungs and a bacterial infection and who lived less than nine hours.
Prosecutors say Dale and Shannon Hickman didn’t take their son to the hospital even though he could barely breathe. Instead, they anointed him with olive oil, a common practice among members of the Followers of Christ church
The Hickmans’ lawyers told the jury Wednesday they would argue that prosecutors are persecuting the couple for their faith.
