Brady: ‘I don’t think we should use a lie’

Sara Walton Brady told the legislative panel on faith healing and children at risk that she believes her little sister, Mariah Walton, has been falsely portrayed as a victim of faith healing. She said her parents believed in treatment by natural herbs, and if they’d known the extent of her heart problem as a young child, they – or she – would have sought medical attention. “Mariah is not a victim of faith healing,” Brady said. “She’s being used as a poster person to change the law. … I don’t care if it’s to save a million lives, I don’t think we should use a lie and try to change something based on a false narrative.”

Sen. Dan Schmidt, D-Moscow, asked her what she thought the lawmakers should do to serve children. Brady said she’d have to learn more. Sen. Dan Johnson, R-Lewiston, the panel’s co-chair, thanked her for her testimony and said it was important for the panel to hear her story.