Westboro Baptist Church to Protest Elizabeth Edwards Funeral

Westboro Baptist Church accuses Elizabeth Edwards of "spewing blasphemy."

ByABC News
December 9, 2010, 9:46 PM

Dec. 9, 2010— -- The Kansas-based church that has made headlines for its controversial picketing of military funerals says it plans to picket Elizabeth Edwards' funeral on Saturday in Raleigh, N.C.

The Westboro Baptist Church released a statement on its website accusing Edwards of "spewing blasphemy."

The statement claims, among other things, that Edwards refused to pray to God to cure her of cancer.

"This witch spent her life in defiance and disobedience to God, and blasphemed Him with her dying breath," the statement reads. "She received multiple warnings and opportunties to repent. ... Her pride and arrogance is breath-taking!"

Edwards, 61, died Tuesday after a six-year battle with breast cancer.

She was receiving treatment in a hospital after she was admitted over Thanksgiving, but her family announced Monday that she would cease treatment after doctors said it would be "unproductive." Doctors said she was never in pain and never lost consciousness before her death.

With her death, John Edwards becomes the primary caretaker for the younger children. Family friends told ABC News he plans to move back into the 28,000-square-foot mansion the couple had built and once shared.