Go the hospital, or go to Heaven? That was the decision a family in Oregon allowed their terminally ill 4-year-old daughter to make. The girl chose Heaven.

Juliana Snow, who is now five, suffers from a rare neurodegenerative disease called Charcot-marie-tooth disease. It has caused her to become so weak that even a minor cold could turn into phnemonia. If she gets sick again, it’s unlikely that Doctors can save her life, and if they manage to do so, she might face being sedated or put on a respirator for the rest of her life.

As might be expected, the family has received a lot of backlash from those who believe this girl is too young to make such a decision. For a kid this age heaven can seem just as real as the hospital. The catch of course, is that none of us truly know whether or not heaven (or God) for that matter actually exists. We want them to, but nobody can say for certain. Would she make the same choice without this rosey alternative idea of magical afterlife free of pain? She might.

Taking into account the seriousness of her illness, and that having doctors try to save her will most likely end in failure, her choice does not seem unreasonable.

Suffice it to say that it’s a predicament no parent wants to be in, and there are no easy decisions, which is precisely what leads to such a passionate debate. She has managed to stay illness free to this point, and the family is just trying to enjoy the time they have left with her, and say they will tackle things as they come along, while trying to respect the girl’s decision. What would you do if you were in this predicament?