OREGON CITY, Ore. (RNS) A state child-welfare worker has denied he told two parents accused in the faith-healing death of their 16-year-old son the boy had the right to refuse medical care.

Jeffrey and Marci Beagley, charged with criminally negligent homicide in the death of their son, Neil, have based part of their defense on a claim that Department of Human Services worker Jeffrey L. Lewis advised them the boy was old enough to make his own medical decisions.

Oregon law gives children 15 and older the right to seek medical care, but does not address whether they can reject medical treatment.

The Beagleys and their extended family are members of the Followers of Christ Church, which generally rejects medical treatment in favor of faith healing. The couple said they offered to take the boy to a doctor but he was adamant about putting his fate in God’s hands.

The Department of Human Services became involved with the family after two callers reported Neil and his younger sister, Kathryn, then 14, were in ill health.

Jeff Lewis, a DHS employee, met with the Beagley family and initially found both Kathryn and Neil in good health. Later, in a subsequent visit, he found Neil sitting with a blanket on his lap in an overly warm bedroom. He told Lewis he didn’t want to go to a doctor.

The Beagleys say Lewis later told them Neil had a right to make his own medical decisions. The Beagleys said they relied on Lewis’ statement in treating Neil with faith-healing rather than medical care.

On Tuesday (Jan. 26), Lewis testified the Beagleys misinterpreted his comment, saying he meant that if it became necessary to obtain a court order to force Neil to see a doctor, the boy would have a right to make his views known.

About two months after Lewis’ last visit, Neil Beagley died of complications from an undiagnosed urinary tract blockage.