Judge Orders Teen to Cancer Treatment

Breitbart.com ^ | 7/21/06 | Sonja Barisic

[Huntress]

A judge ruled Friday that a 16-year-old boy fighting to use alternative treatment for his cancer must report to a hospital by Tuesday and accept treatment that doctors deem necessary, the family's attorney said.

The judge also found Starchild Abraham Cherrix's parents were neglectful for allowing him to pursue alternative treatment of a sugar-free, organic diet and herbal supplements supervised by a clinic in Mexico, lawyer John Stepanovich said.

Jay and Rose Cherrix of Chincoteague on Virginia's Eastern Shore must continue to share custody of their son with the Accomack County Department of Social Services, as the judge had previously ordered, Stepanovich said.

The parents were devastated by the new order and planned to appeal, the lawyer said.

Stepanovich said he will ask a higher court on Monday to stay enforcement of the order, which requires the parents to take Abraham to Children's Hospital of the King's Daughters in Norfolk and to give the oncologist their written legal consent to treat their son for Hodgkin's disease.

"I want to caution all parents of Virginia: Look out, because Social Services may be pounding on your door next when they disagree with the decision you've made about the health care of your child," Stepanovich said.

Phone calls to the Cherrix home went unanswered.

The lawyer declined to release the ruling, saying juvenile court Judge Jesse E. Demps has sealed much of the case.

Social Services officials have declined to comment, citing privacy laws.

After three months of chemotherapy last year made him nauseated and weak, Abraham rejected doctors' recommendations to go through a second round when he learned early this year that his Hodgkin's disease, a cancer of the lymph nodes, was active again.

A social worker then asked a judge to require the teen to continue conventional treatment. In May, the judge issued a temporary order finding Abraham's parents neglectful and awarding partial custody to the county, with Abraham continuing to live at home with his four siblings.

[HiTech RedNeck]

The marijuana is usually recommented as a palliative for the side effects of conventional cancer treatments.

[Doctor Stochastic]

That's the information I have. I don't know if any reliable studies exist.

[freepatriot32]

Libertarian ping.To be added or removed from my ping list freepmail me or post a message here

[xpertskir]

"This is a tough case. I don't have a lot of faith in alternative cancer treatments, but I also think the choice as to treatment should be up to this kid and his parents, as opposed to the state."

This is a tough case. It is almost a sort of question of euthanasia. Clearly any "technology" that Mexico has for treating cancer is used in the U.S. if it makes sense. So it seems that by allowing him to continue with his treatment is pretty much a death sentence. So the question is do you let him kill himself? I personally don't think the government should be putting their 2 cents in.