FORT WAYNE, Ind. -- A newspaper has documented 17 more 'preventable deaths' among members of the Faith Assembly, a sect that urges its members to avoid doctors and rely on faith for healing.
The Fort Wayne News-Sentinel said the sect has averaged about one preventable death a month since 1978.
A total of 82 deaths in 11 states, many of them children whose parents shunned medical care, have been documented.
The newspaper originally reported 52 preventable deaths among sect members in 1982 and has updated its figures since then as new cases were discovered.
One of the 17 newly documented deaths dates to 1974. Several cases involved instances of untreated cancer and infant deaths followingunattended deliveries.
Dan Foley, administrative assistant to the attorney general, said Monday the death count may not stop until prosecutors make an effort to bring criminal neglect charges against parents.
'Until officials take the bull by the horns and say enough is enough, we respect your religious beliefs but they are not your children's beliefs, those deaths are going to continue,' he said.
'It's one thing to have religious immunity for yourself. Men and wom-uen make that decig.
