A Woman Is Suing Her Parents For Not Taking Her To A Doctor

What do most people do when their child shows signs of a serious illness? They take them to the hospital. If you happen to be born into a family that is fundamentalist Mormon, though, you might rely on a different kind of treatment.

Twenty-year-old Mariah Walton was born into a fundamentalist Mormon family in Idaho and experienced firsthand how this religious sect can deal with medical issues. Mariah was born with a congenital heart defect that could have been corrected very early in her life, but instead, she struggles with life-threatening pulmonary hypertension that may require a lung or heart transplant to correct. 

Mariah isn't letting this go, though, and is planning on taking action against her parents...

SHARE Mariah's incredible story with your Facebook friends. What do you think about her plan?

Many fundamentalist Mormons believe that faith and prayer alone can cure the body of ailments. 

One group in particular is making the news, the Followers of Christ sect. 

A young woman, 20-year-old Mariah Walton, is speaking out against her fundamentalist Mormon parents for restricting her from modern medical practices as a child.

As a child, it was apparent that Mariah was ill because of her considerable difficulty breathing. Little did the family know, their daughter had a congenital heart defect. 

Instead of taking her to a hospital, her family treated her with prayer and supplements.

Currently, in Mariah's state of Idaho, families are legally protected if they wish to restrict modern medical care from their child for religious reasons. 

This is the case even if the child dies from this neglect.

As a result of being deprived useful care, Mariah suffers immeasurable levels of daily pain...

Ever since Mariah was very young, she has gasped for air. Her body was simply dying to get oxygen. To provide some perspective, doctors highlight that her medical condition can be fixed quite easily in young children. 

“Whenever I'm at school, I'm out of breath and it's like, my lungs burn because I can't get the oxygen I need,” she said to NBC News. Her pulmonary hypertension has gotten worse and she is currently in need of a heart and lung transplant.

Mariah wants to change the current laws in Idaho and get back at her parents for what they did to her. 

“I think it's time to prosecute them,” she said to Today. In defense, Mariah's mother claims that she wasn't aware of the extent of her daughter's medical issue.

Mariah has personally advocated a change in Idaho's religious protection laws.

Here is a photo of Mariah explaining her story at a forum for child medical neglect at the Idaho Capital. 

An Idaho lawmaker is voicing his opinion on Mariah's proposal to reverse the laws currently in place...

Republican legislators are already pushing back to protect the current laws. 

"You know, it's a First Amendment right, the freedom of religion,” said Idaho state Senator Lee Heider. 

Child medical neglect is a common phenomenon in several areas of Idaho, and the evidence of it is frightening. 

In southern Idaho, many children have died due to negligence in the Followers of Christ sect. Graves of young children are fairly common, like this headstone in the Followers of Christ cemetery.

The decision concerning further action to change the existing laws is pending. 

What do you think about Mariah's plans to prosecute her parents and change the existing religious protection laws in Idaho? COMMENT on Facebook with your opinion on the matter.