An Oregon City couple who failed to seek medical help for their sick newborn in 2023 will serve 30 days in jail and five years of probation as a result of the baby’s death. Clackamas County Circuit Court Judge Michael Wetzel sentenced Taylor and Blair Edwards on Monday after the couple pleaded guilty to criminal mistreatment.

The Edwards are members of the Followers of Christ Church, an Oregon City-based Christian sect with a strict interpretation of biblical scripture that focuses on prayer rather than medicine. At Monday’s hearing, prosecutors said over the past three decades, at least 21 children have died as a result of members of the church not seeking medical care.

Blair Edwards expressed remorse before the court Monday, acknowledging that he and his wife were wrong to not seek medical care for their son, Hayden. He said he now encourages other members of the church to do so when necessary.

“We cannot enforce our perspective on others in our community, however, we desire that these words will be considered, including by those in our community, that the death of our son Hayden has provided this recognition that medical care for the purpose of preserving life is a value that we understand is important,” he said.

The Edwards’ probation terms include strict requirements for the medical care of the couple’s four living children, including that they must maintain health insurance, establish a “well child protocol” for the children, schedule regular checkups with the children’s pediatrician and provide documentation of the protocol to their probation officer.

Additionally, the couple will have to notify their probation officer of all medical appointments for the children and provide proof of attendance. The family also must alert the officer whenever one of their children becomes sick, suffers an injury or other medical condition.

The probation terms require the couple to sign a release for the children’s medical documents to be seen by the probation officer or a Department of Human Services official and allow the probation officer and DHS to speak with the kids’ physician.

If the couple has another child or adopts a baby, they will have 72 hours to notify the probation officer and take the child to an accredited physician.

Two-day-old Hayden Edwards died on June 26, 2023. He appeared healthy at birth, according to prosecutors. He remained so for 36 hours, after which he stopped eating.

According to court records, the baby ate for the last time around 6:15 a.m. June 26. A few hours later, his lips turned blue and he began to have trouble breathing.

Family members soon gathered to pray for the baby and anoint him with oil. He stopped breathing for the first time that afternoon, but his mother used cold water to get him breathing again. Half an hour later, at 3:05 p.m., Hayden Edwards stopped breathing and could not be resuscitated by the family.

“They hoped that within the hands of God, he would be OK,” Deputy District Attorney Russell Amos said. “The state would suggest that within the hands of God, that God gave us the intellect and intelligence to produce high end medical treatment and science. And nonetheless, they put their hopes in olive oil.”

A medical examiner determined that Hayden suffered acute bilirubin encephalopathy, a severe neurological condition associated with jaundice that can occur when the brain accumulates high levels of bilirubin, a product of hemoglobin breakdown. The examiner could not say for certain what caused the high levels of bilirubin, nor that the baby would have been saved for sure if the parents had immediately sought medical help.

According to the Clackamas County District Attorney’s office, this uncertainty prevented prosecutors from seeking a harsher sentence.

“Even though we cannot prove beyond a reasonable doubt that their failure to act caused the death of young Hayden, we believe that the probability is high that if they had taken that child to the hospital, Hayden would be here today,” Amos said.

District Attorney John Wentworth said his office would continue to seek convictions for members of the Followers of Christ Church who do not seek medical treatment for their children, as they have on six previous occasions dating back to 2008.

“Oregon law is extremely clear; parents are required to protect their children,” Wentworth said in a statement. “We have and will continue to prosecute members of this church or any other person who fails to seek necessary medical treatment for a child in their care.”

News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2025/09/08/followers-of-christ-children-neglect-sick-newborn-edwards-clackamas-county/