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A young woman in Idaho wants her parents to be prosecuted after they denied her life-saving medical care, due to their religious beliefs.
Ever since she was a child, Mariah Walton struggled to breathe properly, something her parents tried to treat with prayer and “natural medicine.”
Now 20, Mariah is awaiting a heart and lung transplant, in part because her parents failed to get her congenital heart defect fixed when she was a child—which she only discovered once she turned 18.
“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 explained.
While speaking with TODAY, Mariah revealed that she thinks it’s time for her parents—as well as other parents using religion as a defense for not seeking medical treatment to help their ailing children—to be held accountable for their actions.
"I think it's time to prosecute them," she said.
As an adult, Mariah is now avidly supporting legislation in Idaho that would make it illegal for parents to avoid seeking medical help for their children if they are in imminent danger of dying.
Up until now, parents have been protected against prosecution in these types of cases, specifically because many lawmakers believe parental rights should trump all else.
"You know, it's a First Amendment right, the freedom of religion," said Idaho state Sen. Lee Heider.
State law currently protects parents from prosecution if their faith prevents them from seeking medical care for their kids, even if their child ends up dying from a treatable illness as a result.
Mariah’s mother later told NBC News that she had no idea how sick her daughter was when she initially started gathering the family to pray for her recovery, instead of taking her to the hospital.
