title:  Anti-Vaxxer Parents Let Toddler Die Of Meningitis After Maple Syrup Fails To Cure Him
text: A Canadian couple is facing charges after their plan to avoid  harmful  medicine in favor of maple syrup and other home remedies failed to cure their young son of his meningitis. The 19-month-old died after two weeks of rapidly worsening illness without medical attention.The couple, David and Collet Stephan, are Mormons who run a nutritional supplement company in the United States. They were charged with the death of their child and face up to five years in prison if convicted.Sadly, the death of this toddler didn t come from ignorance, but from the malicious anti-vaccination movement, which deliberately spreads false information about medical practices and advocates in favor of unproven  natural  cures that alternate between the effectiveness of a placebo and down-right harm. Tapes played for the court featured Collet Stephan telling officers that a nurse friend pleaded with the couple about their son s illness, telling them it was a life-threatening case of meningitis. Rather than heed the nurse s warnings, the couple opted for home-brew concoctions.In a bid to boost his immune system, the couple gave the boy who was lethargic and becoming stiff   various home remedies, such as water with maple syrup, juice with frozen berries and finally a mixture of apple cider vinegar, horse radish root, hot peppers, mashed onion, garlic and ginger root as his condition deteriorated.Court heard the couple on tape explaining to the police officer that they prefer naturopathic remedies because of their family s negative experiences with the medical system.Perhaps most disturbingly, the couple continues to maintain that they did nothing wrong. On social media and in comments to the court, the Stephans have shown nothing but contempt for the judicial process. In the aftermath of his son s death, David has accused the government of attempting to force families like his to vaccinate their children. The fact that the child died because the government didn t force him to vaccinate his children is a point that seems to have eluded him.As other cases have done in the past, the plight of the Stephans and the victimization of their children (yes, they have other   unvaccinated   children still living with them), reminds us that this is not just an intellectual exercise or an example of the government overstepping its role. The anti-vaxxer movement, and its supporters, are putting the lives of real children at risk when they opt for maple syrup remedies over scientifically-tested medical care. No child should have to die because of their parents bad decision-making. And the parents should be held accountable for those decisions as well.Featured image via CBC/Facebook 