An Indianapolis woman who beat her
7-year-old son with a coat hanger is citing Indiana's religious freedom
law as a defense against felony child abuse charges, saying her choice
of discipline comes straight from her evangelical Christian beliefs.
The
woman quoted biblical Scripture in court documents. She said that a
parent who "spares the rod, spoils the child," and: "Do not withhold
discipline from a child; if you strike him with a rod, he will not die.
If you strike him with the rod, you will save his soul from Sheol."
The Religious Freedom Restoration Act, enacted
in 2015, says the government cannot intrude on a person's religious
liberty unless it can prove a compelling interest in imposing that
burden, and can do so in the least restrictive way.
The
woman, a Burmese refugee granted political asylum in the U.S., also is
pointing to cultural differences as part of her defense. The case is
complicated by an Indiana Supreme Court decision, one law expert said,
that gives parents the right to use cords and belts — and possibly
even coat hangers — to punish their children.
Indiana mom cites Bible in RFRA defense of coat hanger wrath
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