Editorial - July 2003

Ban on ‘rebirthing’ sends a message

Published July 9, 2003

Quick cures for life-threatening afflictions have been offered ever since the time of snake oil peddlers, and they still abound today. Some are treacherously ill-founded, as in the “rebirthing” treatment that resulted in the highly publicized death in April, 2000 of 10-year-old Candace Newmaker in Denver, Colo. That so-called treatment has now been banned in North Carolina, thanks to Candace’s Lincoln County grandparents and some North Carolina lawmakers.

The “rebirthing” procedure sought by Candace’s adoptive mother was proposed to treat a condition known as reactive attachment disorder in which a child resists loving relationships. It’s hard to comprehend why anyone would consider this ritualistic exercise in pretend-birth. During the process, in which she was tightly wrapped in a blanket, Candace repeatedly begged her “caregivers” to stop because she was having trouble breathing. When the blanket was unwrapped some 40 minutes later, she had no pulse. She had defecated and vomited on herself. Candace died the next day in a hospital in Denver.

 Candace’s grandparents, Mary and David Davis have fought tirelessly for the passage of a bill that would outlaw such procedures in North Carolina. It was signed into law by Gov. Mike Easley on June 18. The Davises give much of the credit to Sen. Austin Allran of Catawba County who sponsored the bill in the Senate, and Rep. Joe Kiser of Lincoln County who led the legislation through the House.

Kiser credits the Davises with following the legislation every step of the way. “The real story here in my book is not what I’ve done or what senators have done, but what the grandparents have,” Kiser said during Easley’s ceremonial signing of the bill.

Allran called the rebirthing technique “nothing more than a form of quackery.”

“The message that we want to send out to everybody is that in this state, this is not going to happen ever again … we will not tolerate this type of child abuse.”

That’s exactly what it was — child abuse.

Serious illness often causes families to seek out any avenue of assistance that can bring about healing during times of crisis. The lesson from Candace’s tragedy is that caution and common sense should prevail when considering any unorthodox treatment.

  In North Carolina, rebirthing will no longer be a legal option in such cases, thanks to the Davises,  Rep. Kiser, Sen. Allran and the other lawmakers who supported this bill.

© 2001 Lincoln Times-News  

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