Articles labeled: Ava Worthington

An Oregon teenager has died after refusing medical treatment for a urinary tract blockage, something that could have easily been corrected. Oddly enough, he’s the cousin of Ava Worthington, whose death from not receiving medical treatment led to criminal charges against her parents. Wonder if this new tragedy might weaken the congregation’s faith, and prevent more deaths in the future? Don’t count on it.

Tuesday’s death of 16-year-old Neil Beagley, however, may not be a crime because Oregon law allows minors 14 and older to decide for themselves whether to accept medical treatment.

“All of the interviews from last night are that he did in fact refuse treatment,” police Sgt. Lynne Benton said Wednesday. “Unless we can disprove that, charges probably won’t be filed in this case.”

An autopsy Wednesday showed Beagley died of heart failure caused by a urinary tract blockage.

He likely had a congenital condition that constricted his urinary tract where the bladder empties into the urethra, and the condition of his organs indicates he had multiple blockages during his life, said Dr. Clifford Nelson, deputy state medical examiner for Clackamas County.

“You just build up so much urea in your bloodstream that it begins to poison your organs, and the heart is particularly susceptible,” Nelson said.

Nelson said a catheter would have saved the boy’s life. If the condition had been dealt with earlier, a urologist could easily have removed the blockage and avoided the kidney damage that came with the repeated illnesses, Nelson said.

The parents of an 18 month old who opted to pray instead of getting her routine treatment that would have likely prevented her death, may face charges of manslaughter.

In cases like these, it has always been MT’s position to place these stories under the child abuse category, because that’s what they are.

The parents of a baby girl who died from a treatable illness left jail late Friday night after posting bail.

Twenty-eight-year old Carl Worthington and 25-year old Raylene Worthington surrendered to police Friday. They face manslaughter and criminal mistreatment charges related to the death of their 15-month old daughter Ava Worthington.

The baby died in early March from an illness that doctors say could have been treated with antibiotics. Authorities believe the parents opted to pray over the baby rather than treat her with medicine.