A baby of Truehope believers died of meningitis likely because they chose to use alternative remedies instead of actual medicine to treat their son. No one can say, of course, whether the baby would have lived with proper care, but what we can say is that without it, he died.

The parents of the baby are David and Collet Stephan – David being the son of Tony Stephan, one of the founders of Truehope.

The Stephans: Truehope, Alternative Medicine Believers

Some of you may recall that I’m not a fan of Truehope. Not only do I not think their supplement, EMPowerplus, works, in the least, for bipolar disorder but these delightful folks threatened to sue me for my opinions on the matter. Additionally, I consider Truehope and EMPowerplus to be very dangerous to people with mental illness as they insist that those who take their supplement get off of all actual medication. This is ridiculous and any doctor would tell you that if their supplement were to work, it would work in conjunction with medication and not just alone. They have a massive motivation to get people off of Western Medicine treatments – you know, actual medicine. Apparently, as seen above, they are prepared to do this, to the death.

No Medical Care for their Child with Meningitis

Truehope believers deprive their child of medical care likely resulting in death. Truehope makes a supplement EMpowerplus that claims to treat mental illness.Unfortunately, this couple chose to give their 19-month-old child water with maple syrup, among other ridiculous things, instead of actually taking him to the doctor. This, in spite of the fact that they were told by a nurse that their child likely  had meningitis. In response to this information, they took their child to a naturopath and only called for real medicine (an ambulance) once their son stopped breathing. And yes, if you’re curious, these people do have two other children.

Members of the family are rallying around the couple saying that they did nothing wrong and they say they’re being persecuted due to their beliefs. (Perhaps they’ve forgotten about the dead child. Beliefs that lead to the death of a child are sort of worth persecuting and prosecuting.)

Stephans Charged with Failing to Provide the Necessities for Life

I am pleased to see this story making the rounds because these parents are being charged with failing to provide the necessities of life. Now, I’m not privy to all the evidence the crown has against these people but I can tell you this: they wouldn’t be prosecuting without some. David and Collet Stephan face up to five years in jail if found guilty.

Now, these people are innocent until proven guilty; but if they are found guilty, I sure hope they throw the book at them. This type of behavior is not acceptable. People can believe whatever they want and if they want to treat themselves with ginger root instead of real medicine, that is their right. People, however, do not have the right to do this to a child, resulting in harm or death. Period.

Read the full story at: Alberta toddler died from meningitis because he was taken to a naturopath instead of a doctor, Crown says.

Quick update: Quick note to anyone who thinks “glee” is any part of this: you’re wrong. I feel no sure thing. What I feel is outrage that this happened in the first place and great fear for the other two children left. Oh, and am I judgmental of people who treat serious illness with watered-down maple syrup? Yes I am. And I’m okay with that. And, by the way, I’m not the only people that don’t buy this couple’s “perspectives.” Read the comments here.

Update #2: As the court case is now in deliberations, much more detail is available on what happened. Read a major article including audio of the testimony here and read this informative breakdown of events, here.

Update #3: Couple found guilty of failing to provide the necessities of life.

Image by Avsar Aras (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0 ], via Wikimedia Commons.