Posted on 07/25/2006 12:21:45 PM PDT by freespirited
A judge ruled Tuesday a 16-year-old cancer patient who has refused conventional medical treatment does not have to report to a hospital and ordered a trial to settle the dispute.
"I feel free today. I was let off the leash," Starchild Abraham Cherrix said after Accomack County Circuit Court Judge Glen A. Taylor agreed to a stay. Abraham has undergone alternative treatment approaches for his cancer, such as herbal treatments, after an initial round of chemotherapy.
A juvenile court judge on Friday ordered Abraham to report to a hospital Tuesday for treatment of his cancer. The judge refused to lift his order Monday and Abraham's parents sought a stay.
In setting aside the lower court order Tuesday, Taylor also ended joint custody of Abraham between his parents and social services officials, which was also ordered by the juvenile court judge.
Taylor scheduled a trial for Aug. 16.
A lawyer for Abraham and his parents argued that if the lower court order was allowed to stand, any further legal appeals would be moot.
"Once those doctors take control of Abraham, then the game is over in terms of their appeal that they're entitled to by statute," said John Stepanovich, lawyer for Jay and Rose Cherrix.
Abraham's parents embraced as Taylor lifted the order.
Rose Cherrix said she and her husband were fearful that Abraham would be taken away from them and ordered to undergo chemotherapy.
"We feel like we are going to get to at least be heard this time," she said outside of court. "We don't feel like we were heard before."
Virginia Attorney General Bob McDonnell filed a brief supporting the stay, arguing that Abraham deserves the right to appeal before undergoing medical treatment.
"It would have been a violation of Abraham Cherrix's due process rights if the lower court order had been implemented prior to an appeal," McDonnell said in a statement. "The interests of justice required that a stay be granted."
The hearing began one hour before Abraham was to report to Children's Hospital of the King's Daughters in Norfolk, about 80 miles from the courthouse.
Abraham was so weakened by three months of chemotherapy last year that at times he could barely walk.
He refused a second round of chemotherapy when he learned early this year that his Hodgkin's disease, a cancer of the lymph nodes, was active again. He chose instead to go on a sugar-free, organic diet and take herbal supplements under the supervision of a clinic in Mexico. A social worker then asked a judge to require the teen to continue conventional treatment.
In his order Friday, Judge Jesse E. Demps found the parents neglectful for allowing Abraham to pursue alternative treatment. He required them to continue sharing custody of Abraham with the Accomack County Department of Social Services, as he previously had ordered.
Carl Bundick, an attorney for the department, told the judge the department would not object to a suspension of that order, provided that a new trial would take place quickly.
"What the department is interested in is this young man being cured of cancer," Bundick said.
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On the Net:
Abraham Cherrix: http://www.abrahamsjourney.com
We are all guaranteed death.
Excellent question. I think this young man is incrediby foolish, yet I just don't think the court has a right to intervene. I wish him the best.
I think with a name like Audley, you're bound to be beaten up in school.
Good move on his part.
Maybe "Starchild" and his a-hole hippie parents should ask Lance if he regrets not taking the "herbal" route in Mexico instead of Chemo.
Thank goodness.....because of some friends, I am quite familiar with how Accomack County Social Services works..........it ain't pretty.
Suppose this happened to you.
You're diagnosed with cancer and the doctor tells you, "If you take this treatment there's a 75% chance that you'll be cured, but there is a 100% chance that you'll be sick for half the year from the treatment.
You put up with the hell of the treatment and the doctor says, "The cancer is back and this time if you take the treatment there's only a 50% chance you'll be cured but still the 100% chance that you'll be sick for half a year from the treatment.
Do you take the chance again with the treatment knowing that it's possible you could live for another year in pain and misery before you die, or refuse treatment and try to accomplish what you can and enjoy as much as possible of whatever time you may have left?
"What the department is interested in is this young man being cured of cancer," Bundick said."
No, what the department is interested in is that the sheeple bow down and worship it instead of taking every last one of these maggots out and hanging them.
Starting with their lawyers.
Seems kind of un-American these days.
Well, if a 16 year old girl has the right to an abortion, then a 16 year old boy ought to be able to refuse chemotherapy. Same arguements apply.
EXACTLY!
Frankly, for a 16-year-old, Abraham is no picnic either.
Mr. Armstrong made his own decision, just as this family should be left to make theirs.
Your insulting comments are just that - insulting.
Well if he wants to die, that`s his choice, but chemo has helped thousands of people, my neighbor being one who had cancer 15 years ago (I think it was lukemia) and she is not only still alive, but has not had one remission since. This kid goes to Mexico to have some wacked out Mexican feed him fava beans or whatever, he is all but guaranteeing his death in a year or so. Steve McQueen and Andy Kaufman both bought into that Mexican bs cure, and they both died immiediately after.
The kid may be well-spoken, but he ain't all there. If you are DYING of cancer, you are by no definition "healthy" or "strong."
Dying precludes either condition.
Kid should sue his parents for giving him a dopey name.
That is only OK for extremely rich movie stars who can ensure they won't want for their entire life (and can afford private tutoring).
Lets see how long until the "culture of death" folks show up...
Abraham is not a really uncommon name around here.........I happen to live in the same county, and only 15 miles from Chincoteague.
I can't believe people do not understand that if it worked, it wouldn't be an alternative. It would be the mainstream treatment.
It`s not insulting, he is a minor and his whacked out parents who are responsible for him are allowing his cancer to kill him. Chemo is very tough, but ask Lance Armstrong if he regrets it.
Really? Even for kids? I have never met an Abraham that was born after 1940.
Abraham might fare better if he were to go to an alternate court and file to become an emancipated minor, so he would be free to act in his own best interest.
The court has no right getting involved in the first place
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