The trial of a Polish couple whose views on health practices led them to place their child on a near-starvation diet is generating widespread national media attention.

Two former Seventh-day Adventists, Alina and Robert W., are being tried for practicing what is being called a “draconian diet” of only fruits and grains with their then one-year-old daughter. Concerns were raised when a neighbor noticed a yellowing of the child’s skin and informed the local clinic about it. Claiming that God is the only healer they trusted, the parents insisted that their daughter be treated according to their own strict dietary practices.

The couple’s parental rights were suspended after they refused to cooperate with medical authorities, and in December 2000 the police moved the child for emergency hospital treatment. It is believed that medical attention saved the child’s life. The medical authorities forwarded the case to the prosecutor’s office in eastern Polish city of Bialystok. At present the three-year old daughter Rebeka is with her mother and now enjoys good health.

In January 2001 a local Adventist congregation in Bialystok removed the couple from church membership, citing their “fanatical views on healthful living,” which the church said was detrimental to the well-being of the child.

Responding to the media attention generated by the trial, the Adventist Church issued a public statement, carried widely by the national media. Seventh-day Adventists, while advocating a preference for a vegetarian diet, would never force its church members to practice a diet that could adversely impact the person’s health, says Andrzej Sicinski, communication director of the Polish Adventist Church. He adds that the church is not against medical treatment for anyone. Sicinski says that the case has been rightly described by the media as a “tragedy of fanaticism.”

“The choice of a diet…is a personal matter of every believer,” reads the statement. “If a particular diet option is chosen, such a decision should be rational and responsible, as well as recognizing a particular reaction of one’s body to the given diet.”

The trial continues and a result is expected within the next few days.