Sarah Hershberger, second from right, is pictured at her family’s roadside stand in Homer Township on Sept. 24. Also pictured are her father and three of her siblings. (PHOTO PROVIDED BY 1851 CENTER FOR CONSTITUTIONAL LAW)
Posted on 10/04/2015 10:43:28 AM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum
A Columbus attorney has announced that a 12-year-old Amish girl is cancer-free, despite courtroom testimony last year from doctors that she would be dead in six months without chemotherapy treatments.
Maurice Thompson, the executive director for the libertarian nonprofit 1851 Center for Constitutional Law, said the girl, Sarah Hershberger, shows no signs of cancer and appears to be healthy.
Sarah Hershberger, second from right, is pictured at her family’s roadside stand in Homer Township on Sept. 24. Also pictured are her father and three of her siblings. (PHOTO PROVIDED BY 1851 CENTER FOR CONSTITUTIONAL LAW)
“She had MRIs and blood work, and the judge over the last year helped facilitate at least one trip to the Cleveland Clinic. The MRIs did not show any cancer,” Thompson told The Gazette on Friday.
He said the family will continue to treat the girl with less invasive, alternative medicine.
“Once you have it, you’re never 100 percent out of the woods, whether or not you get chemotherapy,” he said. “I know how she looks isn’t really an indication of whether she has cancer, but she’s looking very healthy.”
When Sarah was diagnosed with cancer in 2013, her parents accepted chemo treatment for her at Akron Children’s Hospital. But Andy and Anna Hershberger, of Homer Township, said they felt the treatments were killing their daughter and ceased her treatments.
Akron Children’s Hospital responded by filing in Medina County Probate Court to obtain “limited guardianship” of the girl, which would grant them the power to make medical decisions for the girl. That’s when doctors testified Sarah would die without chemo treatment.
Probate Judge John J. Lohn, who has since retired, at first ruled the girl’s parents were competent to make their own decisions about their daughter’s health. The case then bounced between probate and appellate courts before Lohn was ordered to appoint a guardian.
Sarah’s family responded by fleeing the country last year to seek alternative treatment in Mexico and Canada. Months later, the hospital relinquished its guardianship.
Thompson said Probate Judge Kevin Dunn — who replaced Lohn when he retired in 2014 — formally terminated Sarah’s guardianship on Sept. 24. Thompson said the judge acknowledged that Sarah, who will turn 13 in November, showed no symptoms of cancer and that she appeared to be healthy.
When contacted by The Gazette several times this week, a spokesperson for Dunn said the judge had not yet prepared a journal entry regarding the hearing and she declined to confirm any of the events at the hearing. The entry is expected early next week.
In the wake of Sarah’s case, Thompson called on lawmakers to reform Ohio’s laws that grant judges the power to overrule parental decisions regarding their children’s health and wellbeing.
“It is now time for Ohio’s legislators to protect Ohio families from wayward judges,” the attorney said.
He criticized the legal test that judges relied on in the Hershberger case in order to supersede the Hershbergers’ decision to stop chemotherapy treatments.
“This test allows county judges to overrule health care, educational and other important decisions of suitable Ohio parents,” Thompson said. “In the wake of Sarah’s case, the concept came to be known as ‘medical kidnapping.’ ”
Akron Children’s Hospital declined on Thursday to comment on Thompson’s accusations.
A spokesperson said, however, that the hospital has established a committee with the Amish community to facilitate better communication regarding healthcare in the wake of Sarah’s case.
“Family-centered care has long been a tenet at Akron Children’s Hospital. Our caregivers strive every day to involve parents in decision making and to respect the cultural differences of our patient families,” the spokesperson said. “We have been updated periodically by Sarah’s family members through this committee and wish Sarah continued good health.”
Please elaborate.
>>>This makes me think you are not being entirely being honest<<<
Honest about what? I wasn’t aware that McQueen had the normal Cancer Treatments of the day before he decided to hit the Mexican Apricot Clinic. Granted, the treatments for Cancer back then were archaic compared to today, but Apricot Pits didn’t work then and they don’t work now.
From my experience, this Holistic Garbage is just that.
Now, what am I not being honest about again, my Leukemia, our Friend who just passed away, what? Please clarify.
The only thing the docs can agree on is that I need various lengths of time and dosages of chemo and radiation.
At 36 with three kids seven and under, one being high functioning ASD, I'm taking my chances with Gerson, Essiac ingredients, and H2O2.
Judge me. I don't care.
Be honest now. You made it sound like McQueen was a nut for trying holistic medicine when in fact your guys had him first.
In really severe allergies the patient would wear a small bottle on a string around their neck. The bottle would contain a tiny drop of the allergen mixed with water. I forget how the allergy was diagnosed but it was equally stupid.
My friend even refers to her doctor as her “ witch doctor” . She has told me a number of things but that is all I am remembering now. Maybe someone else can tell you more.
Oh, now you’re calling me a Liar?
I just stated that I had no idea that McQueen had any traditional Cancer Treatment in the U.S. before going to Mexico.
I also stated that the Treatment options back then were nothing compared to todays. Those were the days when they just opened you up, said too bad and sewed you back up.
Who are “my guys” BTW. The only my guys are the ones that have kept me alive for the past ten years.
Now, screw you and your “be honest now” condescending crap.
You have been through the wringer, I am so sorry. I am not judging you I am judging my friend. The only thing wrong with her is a bad case of nerves.
He should also take a look at olive leaf extract. 250 grams on ebay for $16. Also alkalizing with baking soda and the potassium equivalent.. potassium bicarbonate. Maybe he already is.
She unfortunately was a true believer in Holistic (VooDoo) Medicine, just like Steve McQueen.
Uh, Steve died being a True Believer.
Who do you want me to apologize to, Steve is dead.
Those Apricot Pits aren’t what they’re cracked up to be.
My B-I-L is a friend of his Son Chad. Maybe I’ll have him tell Chad that I apologize.
Keep digging Karl...
Well, he tried your chemo bullshit first. Not what it is cracked up to be, is it?
I guess it wasn’t back then.
I stated I don’t believe in the VooDoo. You obviously do.
Since I have Cancer, I think my Opinion holds some weight, but it is just my Opinion. Your Opinion is yours, so stop trying to make this personal.
If you get Cancer, you can do whatever you like. Drink Ionized Water, eat some ground up Apricot Pits or get some Coffee Enemas, I really don’t care. It will be your life on the line.
Our Friend tried all that garbage and more. She spent gobs of money on every kooky “expert” that came along. She never gave Traditional Treatment a chance, and she died because of it. Nothing will change that fact. Her Husband is just discovering how much Money his Late Wife gave to these frauds over the past year before she died. Desperation fueled by false Hope, very sad indeed.
Now we’re stuck on Steve McQueen. I’ll assume you were a fan. I actually met him and Chad when I was riding Motocross way back in 1972. He was a different fellow.
Too bad he died so young. You make choices in Life, some good, some bad. It didn’t work out for him and his Family.
That being said, I think you and I will just have to agree to disagree. Good night.
I think it is pretty neat that God will lead you to the right thing that he created for you. Just amazing, He is.
What does voodoo have to do with God’s compounds that he created for us to use?
You asked me to tell you about the holistic medicine that my friend gets, you haven’t commented. Are you going to comment?
Karl, we’re done.
Arsenic is one of God’s Compounds, but I don’t ingest it.
Have a nice night my Friend.
Which post was that? I faintly remember it was a little silly.
CONFESSIONS OF A MEDICAL HERETIC by Robert S. Mendelsohn, M.D., is an excellent read.
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The death camp hates to lose one of their victims. My guess is that they will try again.
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Post #45. It it was more than silly it was laughable like I told you it was. You asked me to tell you what I was told that is holistic treatment for allergies.
That is what my friend does to keep her allergies in check. No medicine of any kind just physically pushing against her upraised arm. She pays someone for this nonsense.
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