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Health  and  Healing  

Encounters  with  the  State  

A9tude  toward  health  

•  Very  health  conscious  •  good  appe=te,  robust  appearance,  and  ability  to  work  hard  associated  with  good  health  

•  a9tudes  towards  doctors,  medical  prac==oners  vary  greatly  

Medical  beliefs  and  prac/ces  

•  will  go  to  medical  doctor,  medical  prac==oner  or  seek  folk  remedy  

•  all  kinds  of  medical  treatment  (transfusions,  surgery,  etc.)  are  permiGed  

•  may  be  reluctant  to  seek  medical  help  for  a  variety  of  reasons  –  transporta=on  –  cost,  but  will  not  spare  money  for  medical  treatment  if  it  will  help  

–  distrust  of  doctors    

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Vaccina=ons  •  1978  study  of  Lancaster  County  Amish,  26%  had  DPT  vaccina=on,  23%  against  polio,  16%  against  measles  and  mumps  

•  1979  polio  outbreak  in  Lancaster  county  among  Amish  –  false  reports  that  Amish  were  forbidden  by  religion  from  ge9ng  vaccinated  

–  Amish  decided  to  get  vaccinated  for  polio  b/c  of  risk  of  infec=ng  outsiders  

•  Mentality:  hard  to  see  reason  for  vaccina=on  against  a  disease  they  have  no  experience  with,  have  not  heard  of  anyone  having  

Pregnancy  

•  22%  women  do  not  seek  prenatal  care  un=l  6th  month  

•  greater  percentage  of  homebirths,  especially  aVer  first  child  – 10%  of  first  children  born  at  home  – aVer  the  first  child,  59%  of  children  born  at  home  

Mental  illness  

•  does  occur,  e.g.  depression  •  suicide  rate  among  Amish  in  Lancaster  Co.  less  than  half  that  of  surrounding  popula=on  

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Folk  and  sympathy  cures  

•  Home  remedies  •  Supers//ons:  Powwow  (a.k.a.  charms)  

You  are  a  liAle  worm,  not  en/rely  grown.  You  plague  me  in  marrow  and  bone.  You  may  be  white,  black,  or  red.  In  a  quarter  of  an  hour  you  will  be  dead.  

A9tudes  towards  alterna=ve  medicine  

•  Chiropractors  are  oVen  preferred  to  medical  doctors  

•  Great  interest  in  vitamins  and  supplements  •  Home  remedies  (teas,  ointments,  etc.)  are  passed  along  in  some  families  

•  Powwowing  (or  sympathy  cures)  are  oVen  condemned  or  viewed  skep=cally.  

A9tudes  towards  the  sick,  injured  and  people  with  disabili=es  

•  Will  spare  no  =me  or  expense  to  comfort  or  cure  someone  who  is  sick  or  has  suffered  an  injury  

•  Very  accep=ng  of  the  disabled.  Given  tasks  based  on  ability  as  is  the  case  with  all  family  members.  Will  typically  seek  professional  help.  

•  Believe  all  children  should  go  to  school  and  par=cipate  in  the  group  

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Role  of  God  

•  God  is  viewed  as  ul=mately  responsible  for  healing  the  sick  

•  Disabilites,  etc.  are  viewed  as  God’s  will.  – Consistent  with  the  Amish  perspec=ve  that  we  all  have  God-­‐given  strengths  and  weaknesses.  

– No  need  to  take  pride  in  abili=es  or  shame  for  disabili=es  

Hereditary  diseases  

•  Shallow  gene  pool  – 25%  of  Lancaster  Amish  named  Stoltzfus.  All  descended  from  Nicolas  Stoltzfus,  one  of  the  original  seGlers.  

•  High  incidence  of  some  gene=c  diseases    •  Gold  mine  for  gene=cists,  since  extensive  genealogical  informa=on  exists.  

Ellis-­‐van  Creveld  Syndrome  

•  Type  of  Dwarfism.    – 52  cases  in  Lancaster  County  prior  to  1962,  equal  to  the  total  for  the  rest  of  the  world.  No  such  cases  in  Holmes  County,  Ohio.  

•  All  sufferers  of  EVC-­‐Dwarfism  can  trace  their  ancestry  back  to  Samuel  King  and  his  wife,  who  immigrated  to  PA  in  1767.  

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Glutaric  aciduria  

•  affects  mainly  Amish  infants  in  Lancaster  County  

•  metabolic  disorder  that  that  leads  to  brain  damage  if  not  treated  

•  treated  by  strict  control  of  diet  

Clinic  for  Special  Children  

•  established  in  Lancaster  County  by  Dr.  Holmes  Morton,  who  is  s=ll  ac=ve.  – winner  of  Albert  Schweitzer  Humanitarian  Prize  and  MacArthur  Founda=on  “genius”  grant  

•  screens  Old  Order  Amish  and  Old  Order  Mennonite  children  for  gene=c  diseases  

•  has  developed  treatments  for  metabolic  diseases  

•  also  serves  non-­‐Anabap=st  popula=on  

More  on  Clinic  for  Special  Children  •  Of  their  pa=ents:  –  40%  are  treatable  –  40%  are  par=ally  treatable  –  20%  have  terminal  condi=ons  

•  Has  iden=fied  more  than  150  gene=c  muta=ons  that  affect  Amish  and  Mennonite  popula=ons  

•  Some  gene=c  diseases  are  unknown  among  the  Amish  and  Mennonites:  Example:  Cys=c  fibrosis  

•  Benefits  are  world  wide.  Example:  Glutaric  aciduria  also  found  outside  Amish  popula=on.  Family  of  Brazilian  child  with  glutaric  aciduria  moved  to  Lancaster  for  the  child  to  receive  treatment.  

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The  Amish:  A  Family  Legacy    

•  Looks  at  gene=c  studies  of  the  Amish  community  in  Lancaster  County,  Pennsylvania,  conducted  by  Johns  Hopkins  University  scien=sts    

•  Points  out  that  the  ancestry  of  all  the  sect's  members  is  directly  traceable  to  the  original  200  seGlers  and  that  the  consequences  of  this  inbreeding  among  the  insular  Amish  include  such  recessive-­‐gene  disorders  as  dwarfism  and  polydactyly.    

•  Filmed  in  1987  

Encounters  with  the  State  

View  of  Government  •  Appreciate  civic  order,  legal  property  ownership.    –  Believe  that  God  has  ordained  government  –  pay  taxes  –  pray  for  poli=cal  leaders  –  encourage  members  to  be  law-­‐abiding  

•  Government  embodies  the  world  and  the  use  of  force.  –  believe  they  have  the  right  to  resist  a  corrupt  government  

–  try  to  change  laws  that  they  feel  impinge  on  their  religious  beliefs.  

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Issues  over  which  the  Amish  and  Government  have  clashed.  

•  Educa=on  •  Midwifery  and  other  health-­‐care  issues  •  Social  Security  •  Worker’s  compensa=on  •  SMV  emblems  •  land  use  (example:  run  off  from  farms)  •  zoning  regula=ons  •  safety  regula=ons  (wearing  hard  hats  on  construc=on  sites)  

Example  of  Civic  Engagement  •  Some  conserva=ve  OOA  groups  object  to  SMV  (slow  moving  vehicle)  triangles:  –  see  it  as  sacrilegious  because  the  triangle  represents  the  Chris=an  trinity.  

–  Church  forbids  bright  and  gaudy  colors.  •  In  2011,  Jacob  U.  Gingerich  sent  a  handwriGen  leGer  to  the  Kentucky  legislature  reques=ng  that  the  Amish  be  exempt  from  the  SMV  requirement  and  be  allowed  to  use  silver  reflec=ve  tape  outlining  the  buggy  and  lanterns.  

•  In  2012,  Kentucky  amended  their  highway  code  in  the  way  that  Gingerich  recommended.  

The  Amish  and  Poli=cs  

•  Church  forbids  membership  in  poli=cal  organiza=ons  and  holding  public  office.  –  Running  for  office  seen  as  an  example  of  pride.  –  Poli=cal  affilia=on  or  holding  public  office  would  violate  principle  of  separa=on  from  the  world.  

•  Vo=ng  is  allowed,  but  few  actually  vote.  •  Jury  duty  is  forbidden.  –  It  is  considered  to  be  part  of  government’s  system  of  using  force  and  therefore  violates  the  principle  of  nonresistance.    

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Government  aid  

•  Amish  are  opposed  to  receiving  government  aid.    –  see  it  as  a  threat  to  their  reliance  on  mutual  aid.  – would  erode  dependence  on  the  church  – wish  to  keep  a  clear  separa=on  of  church  and  state  

•  Amish  do  not  par=cipate  in  Social  Security.  •  Amish  farmers  do  receive  indirect  government  aid  through  price  support  programs  for  products  like  milk.  

 

Na=onal  Amish  Steering  CommiGee  

•  formed  in  1967  to  give  the  Amish  a  common  voice  when  dealing  with  government  on  issues  like    conscien=ous  objec=on,  zoning,  Social  Security,  Worker’s  Compensa=on.  

•  works  with  governmental  agencies  to  try  to  find  solu=ons  to  these  issues  

•  is  the  only  na=onal  Amish  organiza=on.  

Three  compromises  by  the  federal  government  

1.  Amish  (and  other  conscien=ous  objectors)  are  not  required  to  serve  in  the  military.  

2.  Amish  were  made  exempt  from  Social  Security  in  1965.  

3.  The  landmark  U.S.  Supreme  Court  case  Wisconsin  v.  Yoder  in  1972  ruled  that  the  Amish  had  a  cons=tu=onal  right  to  have  their  own  schools  and  permiGed  youth  to  end  formal  schooling  aVer  eight  grades.    

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Wisconsin  v.  Yoder  

 “We  must  not  forget  that  in  the  Middle  Ages  important  values  of  the  western  world  were  preserved  by  members  of  religious  orders  who  isolated  themselves  from  all  worldly    influences  against  great  obstacles.  There  can  be  no  assump=on  that  today’s  majority  is  ‘right’  and  the  Amish  and  others  like  them  are  ‘wrong.’  A  way  of  life  that  is  odd  or  even  erra=c  but  interferes  with  no  rights  or  interests  of  others  is  not  to  be  condemned  because  it  is  different.”  

Third  examina=on  

•  Time:  Thursday,  Nov.  1620,  1:00  –  2:15.  •  Place:  360  Willard  •  Format:  Approximately  40  mul=ple  choice  and  true/false  ques=ons.  Possibly  a  few  fill-­‐in-­‐the  blank  ques=ons.  One  essay  ques=on  (you’ll  have  at  least  two  choices  for  the  essay).  

•  Material:  Material  since  the  second  test.