A U.S. couple who prayed instead of seeking medical help as their daughter died was properly convicted of homicide, a court ruled Wednesday in a decision that dramatically limits legal immunity for parents who turn to God rather than science to heal their children.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled that the state's immunity provisions for prayer treatment parents protect them from child abuse charges but nothing else. Most states created such exemptions from child abuse charges for prayer-healing parents in the 1970s to meet federal requirements.

At least 303 children have died since 1975 after medical care was withheld on religious grounds, according to Rita Swan, director of the advocacy group Children's Healthcare is a Legal Duty.

The Wisconsin case revolves around an 11-year-old girl named Madeline Kara Neumann, who died of undiagnosed diabetes in March 2008 at her home.

Too sick to speak

Kara, who had been growing weak for several weeks, eventually became too sick to speak, eat, drink or walk. Her parents, Dale and Leilani Neumann, don't belong to any organized religion or church but identify themselves as Pentecostal Christians and believe visiting a doctor is akin to worshipping an idol, the court opinion said.

As Kara's condition worsened, her parents resisted suggestions from her grandmother to take her to a doctor. Kara's grandfather suggested giving her a supplement used to combat dehydration in children, but Leilani Neumann said that would take the glory away from God.

Dale Neumann testified that the possibility of death never entered their minds. After the girl died, Leilani Neumann told police God would raise Kara from the dead.

Doctors testified that Kara would have had a good chance of survival if she had received medical care before she stopped breathing.

Separate juries convicted the couple of second-degree reckless homicide in 2009. They faced up to 25 years in prison, but a judge instead ordered them to serve a month in jail every year for six years, with one parent serving every March and the other every September.

State attorneys said parents have a legal duty to seek care once they realize a child could die.

A spokesman for the Christian Science church, a religious group that embraces faith healing, had no immediate comment.