Disclaimer- This page is written by a Scientologist who goes by the nick of E.J. Though I host E.J.'s pages on my domain, bernie.cncfamily.com, to allow moderate Scientologists a way to express their views, it represents E.J.'s view only. I do not censor the page in any way nor do I necessarily endorse or agree with it, and reciprocally. Bernie.

Lisa McPherson:

If you're not familiar with the specifics of this story you might want to visit Intolerance Online for some background.

The death of Lisa McPherson is clearly an unfortunate tragedy. But critics suggest that her death is evidence of some fatal flaw in Scientology tech. They believe that Ms. McPherson's caretakers were following precise Scientology scripture and it was this unquestioning application of L.R.H. Tech that caused her demise.

First, they will often claim that Scientology forbids members from seeking conventional medical treatment. This is not the case at all. However, they pervert and misrepresent Scientology's views on psycho-somatic illnesses to suggest that the Church believes this.

However, on the first page of every Scientolgy book you'll find the following:

"Scientology philosophy and its forerunner, Dianetics spiritual healing technology, as practiced by the Church, address only the "thetan" (spirit). Although the Church, as are all churches, is free to engage in spiritual healing, it does not, as its primary goal is increased spiritual awareness for all. For this reason, the church does not wish to accept individuals who desire treatment of physical or mental illness but prefers to refer these to qualified specialists of other organizations who deal in these matters."
Or you can read the Church's postion on the subject:

"The Church of Scientology has always had the firm policy of not diagnosing or treating the sick. Medical doctors are trained to deal with the physical aspects of illness and injury. A Scientologist with a physical condition is always advised to seek and obtain the needed examination and treatment of a qualified medical professional. Once under medical treatment, a Scientologist then addresses his illness or injury with auditing to handle any spiritual trauma or other factors connected with the physical condition which may have predisposed him to illness or injury."

"There are also many medical doctors who are Scientologists themselves."

Further, here are some Scientology ethical codes which might have been violated in a circumstance such as the one involving Lisa:

Obviously, anyone rigidly following L.R.H. directives would have been compelled to take action by those very policies had they felt this woman's life was at any time at risk.

I simply do not agree with the critical assessment of this situation. For if it were true, we would see other similar cases happening around us. No - Ms. McPherson's death is an isolated incident, involving a unique set of circumstances.

The critics have taken the opportunity to capitalize on this woman's death by attempting to implicate Scientology. They attempt to use her death as a lightning rod or a rallying cry. Further, they distort the facts of the case in an attempt to make the story gruesome and disturbing, and trot out autopsy photos to add even more shock value (as if autopsy photos are ever a nice thing to look at). As usual, one should use caution not to take everything the critics call facts at face value.

Despite critical claims to the contrary, the cause of this woman's death appears to be a pulmonary embolism (blood clot in the lung) from a bruise on the left leg received in an automobile accident.

The point is:

The charges against the Church were, of course, dropped once it was clear that they had no criminal culpability in the case. Read the media report on the dismissal for yourself.

Obviously, things could have gone better with this situation - as is evidenced by her untimely death and the controversy surrounding it. And the Church has taken steps to avoid such a thing ever happening again, including: keeping a physician on call 24 hours a day at Scientology's Clearwater operation, and working to establish a protocol with local hospitals that details how Scientologists with mental problems should be cared for in light of Scientology's vigorous opposition to psychiatry.

People die unexpectedly sometimes. People even die while in the care of physicians. This is tragic, yes, but it does happen nonetheless. To suggest there is a pattern of Scientology killing its parishioners is absurd.