God Bless the Child (22 Oct. 1991)

A couple denies medical attention to their dying daughter because of their religious convictions. Detectives discover that the they may have had doubts about their actions, so the D.A. charges them with endangering and manslaughter.

Director:

E.W. Swackhamer

Writers:

Dick Wolf (creator), David Black,

Stars:

Paul Sorvino, Chris Noth, Dann Florek

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Paul Sorvino	...	Sergeant Phil Cerreta
Chris Noth	...	Detective Mike Logan
Dann Florek	...	Captain Donald Cragen
Michael Moriarty	...	Executive A.D.A. Ben Stone
Richard Brooks	...	A.D.A. Paul Robinette
Steven Hill	...	D.A. Adam Schiff
Henderson Forsythe	...	Lucius Carpenter
Marian Seldes	...	Suzanne
James Noble	...	Judge Nelson Kurland
Byron Jennings	...	Ted Driscoll
Caroline Aaron	...	Susan
Joyce Reehling	...	Eleanor Harding
Kaiulani Lee	...	Nancy Driscoll
Biff McGuire	...	Reverend Morley
Kenneth Tigar	...	Dr. Stanback

Storyline

After a little girl dies of strep throat, Cerretta and Logan investigate the reasons why and leads them the parents, who belong to a religion where modern medicine is forbidden by it's doctrine. Stone and Robinette look for a way to prosecute them as they protect themselves with their Constitional rights of religious choice.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Details

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 October 1991 (USA)

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Wolf Films, Universal TV

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

In the hospital this child went into cardiac arrest; complete cardiac standstill with the monitor showing no signs of cardiac activity. The resident still chose to attempt cardioversion of the stilled heart. Cardioversion with complete cardiac standstill is never done. There must be some activity either atrial or ventricular but absent either, it is futile to attempt.

User Reviews

In God's Hands.

A little girl dies because the mother and father belong to a church that doesn't believe in medical treatment, only prayer therapy. It's a first amendment issue. How much latitude is given to religious freedom under the Constitution? If the grieving parents are convicted of a crime, then doesn't that interfere with their right to practice the religion of their choice? The issue is a Big One, of course, but as usual the story successfully avoids dealing with political philosophy and concentrates on the two people responsible for withholding proper medical care. It's a continuing feature of the series to bring up a major issue and then side step it. Not to criticize the series because in its first decade it more than established its bona fides, but in its unwillingness to deal at greater length with the larger issue, the writers and Dick Wolf have decided to settle for commercial appeal and a "very good" rating instead of taking a stab at something that's rather more than very good.