The State - News from Feb. 15, 1987

Strict fasts supervised by a self-styled religious leader are a danger to his followers, according to state officials who pressed legal efforts to end such practices. Six people have died during or after fasts at the Religious School of Natural Hygiene near Hollister. State regulators say the school and its operator, First Minister Arthur D. Andrews, are illegally and dangerously practicing medicine. The state rejected a tentative settlement that would have allowed the fasts to continue if participants signed a waiver. Richard Arnold, a deputy attorney general representing the state Board of Medical Quality Assurance, called the proposal “worthless.” Andrews had no comment on the session in the chambers of San Benito County Superior Court Judge Thomas Breen. Breen set a March 2 trial date on the state’s request for a permanent injunction.