Internal prototype — noindexed, not linked from public navigation yet.

N.Y. PEN Law § 260.15

This is the official text of N.Y. PEN Law § 260.15, part of New York’s Penal Law — defines crimes and punishments in New York.

Not legal advice. This page reproduces the official text of a government statute for reference only. Laws change, and how a statute applies depends on your specific facts. For advice about your situation, consult a licensed attorney in your state.

Endangering the welfare of a child; defense

Official statutory text

§ 260.15 Endangering the welfare of a child; defense.\n In any prosecution for endangering the welfare of a child, pursuant to\nsection 260.10 of this article, based upon an alleged failure or refusal\nto provide proper medical care or treatment to an ill child, it is an\naffirmative defense that the defendant (a) is a parent, guardian or\nother person legally charged with the care or custody of such child; and\n(b) is a member or adherent of an organized church or religious group\nthe tenets of which prescribe prayer as the principal treatment for\nillness; and (c) treated or caused such ill child to be treated in\naccordance with such tenets.\n

Status: in_force · Read it on the official government site

About this page: Statute text is reproduced from official government publishers via the Open US Law dataset (Vaquill AI, snapshot v2026.08, CC BY 4.0). Primary legislative text like this is public domain under the government-edicts doctrine (Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). We link every section back to its official source so you can verify it independently.