When May Government Interfere with Religious Practices to Protect the Health and Safety of Children?

Secular states may be asked to override parental decisions based on religious beliefs when these decisions lead to concerns for the wellbeing of the child or welfare of society at large. Particular difficulties arise when goals of limited state importance to secular society conflict with practices that matter a great deal to members of religious groups. We propose a prudentially-based approach to resolving these conflicts by balancing the interests of the affected child, those close to the child, and society without compromising the child's needs. This approach acknowledges the importance of children's relational interests as members of families and religious cultures. It is compatible both with legal and bioethical practice. Decisions are contextually framed, taking into account the degree to which the state generally tolerates risks to children's health and safety. The constraints built into our approach protect against using child welfare as a pretext for attacks on minorities. Finally, use of this approach partially addresses the imprecision of other standards that have been applied to judge the appropriateness of parental decisions.