Recent criminal cases in Wisconsin and Oregon have drawn attention to the question of how long parents should be allowed to rely on prayer over medicine when their children become ill.

Parents in each of the cases are charged with failing to seek medical care in enough time to save the lives of their children.

Lawmakers in Indiana have framed the local discussion somewhat by approving defenses against criminal prosecution for neglect and nonsupport in cases involving "legitimate practice of religious belief," Porter County Prosecutor Brian Gensel said.

Yet parents have been prosecuted for reckless homicide when children have died as a result of the lack of medical attention, he said.

Child advocates in Indiana and Illinois also have the green light to step in with civil action when it becomes known that a child's health or life is in serious jeopardy.

Investigators with the Indiana Department of Child Services turn over any evidence they gather to county juvenile court magistrates, who then decide whether the risk is great enough to order medical care, or in extreme cases remove the child from the home, according to DCS attorney and former Porter County Juvenile Court Magistrate John Shanahan.

Shanahan said he can remember just one instance during his 23 years of experience when Porter County stepped in to order care.

The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services also investigates medical neglect claims, and if warranted takes action to protect children without considering the rationale of the person responsible for the neglect, said Kendall Marlowe, deputy director of the office of communication.

At least four children have died in Indiana during the past decade and at least two in Illinois since the early 1980s because of reliance on faith healing beliefs, according to Rita Swan, president of Children's Healthcare, a national organization that monitors faith-based neglect of children.

While she is not in favor of states stepping in for trivial health matters involving children, Swan said her organization seeks to do away with all exemptions from criminal prosecution when children are at risk of harm or death as a result of religion-based medical neglect.

"I say the life and health of a child is a right," she said.

The issue is personal for Swan, who watched her 16-month-old son, Matthew, die in 1977 of highly treatable and preventable spinal meningitis as a result of the fact she and her husband relied on spiritual treatments as members of the Christian Science church.

While now blaming those types of beliefs on fear and ignorance, she said it's a tough place for parents when they are told the spiritual help in which they believe will be lost if they seek medical care.

"It's a Catch-22," she said. "It's a very frightening decision."

Dave Horn, a spokesman for the Christian Science church in Indiana, which has groups in Valparaiso, Highland and Michigan City, said members are not given the type of ultimatum described by Swan.

The church is one of choice and there are no prohibitions against the use of health care, he said.

"Each believer can do what they want," he said.

Almost all members, however, have had an experience that has convinced them of the healing powers of faith, Horn said. The church stresses this belief and bases it on Jesus' teaching that his followers will be able to do what he did.

The Children's Healthcare Web site -- childrenshealthcare.org -- lists 17 church denominations that it claims have let children die since 1980 because of religious beliefs against health care.