Amish Controversies

Amish people rely on literal horsepower, and those animals leave behind their own waste products which land on the roads. This inevitably gets run over by cars no doubt perturbing their owners, and is hardly the most picturesque side of life in “Amish Country.” So from time to time you come across news stories from corners of America where this is a point of conflict between Amish and…

An update on Sarah Hershberger, an 11-year old Amish girl who was recently the focus of a public battle over child welfare and parental rights. Sarah was diagnosed in 2013 with a form of leukemia described as “highly curable.” After undergoing conventional chemotherapy, Sarah’s parents elected to remove her from the treatment due to the adverse side effects. In lieu of a conventional approach, they…

From newsnet5.com: KIDRON, Ohio – The Wayne County Sheriff’s Department believes they have identified the man who accidentally struck an Amish boy in the head with a bullet who was plowing a field. The 34-year-old told police he was shooting pigeons at the time of the incident. The man fired one shot into a group of pigeons and then fired a second shot when the…

From newsnet5.com: KIDRON, Ohio – A 17-year-old Amish boy was shot in the head while plowing a field Thursday morning in Kidron. The Wayne County Sheriff’s Department reports John Hershberger was struck with a .22 caliber bullet just after 9 a.m. Investigators said it’s possible the stray bullet was fired by someone hunting squirrels and it just happened to come down on top of John’s…

In July we shared news that the smoke detector issue in Eau Claire County, Wisconsin had been resolved. Amish who did not wish to install smoke detectors were given the option of applying for a religious waiver, which also covered plumbing requirements. The exemption was signed into law by the governor in mid-July, and it seemed that the dispute, which had gone on for a…

Coming on the heels of the Wisconsin building code exemption, another conflict involving Amish appears to have been resolved last week in Heuvelton, New York (St. Lawrence County). As reported in the Watertown Daily Times, area Amish have agreed to nearly double the amount of reflective tape used on their buggies (the group in question objects to using the orange SMV triangle; for a summary of the case, go here)….

Amish in Wisconsin will no longer be required to install smoke detectors in their homes after a new exemption was signed into law last week. You may recall that Amish in Eau Claire County, Wisconsin had come into conflict with authorities after failing to secure building permits which would obligate them to install smoke and carbon monoxide alarms. Some Amish in the area had been evicted, while some had…