Judge rules teen must get cancer treatments.

The doctors better be careful claiming this is a guarantee. If the child dies they could be liable for quite a bit.

 

It's not a guarantee but certain diseases have certain treatments. His illness is treated with chemotherapy and radiation. The parents are not allowing him this.

THe parents are willfully and deliberately letting their child die when he could be treated and has high chances of suriviving.

Thousands of children die when they could easily be saved with medicine because of parents who are Christian Scientists, JWs, or have other odd beliefs about medicine. Many children in cults die this way, as well. Some are starved.

Christians decry abortion and those who refuse to have their Down Syndrome babies get a stomach operation that could save them, but for some reason, are defending these parents who are refusing the treatment that has high success.

 

Like I was mentioning before, normally I don't like the government stepping in & telling a family how they should raise their children. I believe this is a case where it is warranted. This is what I consider to be a form of neglect. I also think it is ridiculous that the law has to be hunting to down the mother & her son. She should just go ahead & get him treated, so that they both can put this horrible chapter of their lives behind them.

 

I don't like the government violating someones religious beliefs in this country. whose next, us, how about, it's harmful to children to force them to go to church, you could make a whole list. I've known charismatics who would not take their childrenn to the doctor no matter what, children ill, no help.
this is a dangerous step.

 

One does not have the religious right to kill one's children.

Fear of persecution is not a reason to stand by while a child is killed because of his unstable parents.

Do we really value our own security so much that we would let children die out of fear that POSSIBLY in the future the government MIGHT try to curtail our freedoms?

 

I don't think they are pushing Christianity onto the kid or the family or trying to tell them how to believe. The concern here is for the kid's life. When they were in court, pleading their case, all they had to do is come up with some kind of evidence that their alternative mediciene works. I'm sure the judge would have allowed them to continue with their alternative treatment.

My concern is if the judge allowed the family to continue with their treatment like they have, then people would be making a case for doctor or family assisted suicide. I look at this as more of a form of whether or not the child is being properly cared for, not about their religious beliefs.

 

I have a few questions:
1. The US Supreme Court has ruled (more than once I believe) that it's okay for a minor to have an abortion when she wanted one. Why can this 13 year old not decide his medical treatment, too?

2. Who would pay for the chemo? The parents, or the people who want to force it on him?

3. Where were all these folks when Terry Schivo was dying of forced starvation? Talk about a double standard!

 

You're right. It is a double standard. I believe that abortion should be illegal, I believe the parents should pay for the chemo (or at least have their insurance cover it). If the state ends up having to pay for it, then I think that the state should be able to garnish their wages until the cost of the chemo is paid off. I also believe that Terry Schivo shouldn't have been murdered.

The government is known to contradict itself. Abortion is legal, but throwing a newborn baby in a dumpster is illegal. Its legal to send a 17 year-old kid to war (with parent's permission) to die for his country, but that 17 year-old can't buy alcohol or tobacco. I don't believe a person should drink or smoke, but if they are man enough to go to war, then I believe they are man enough to drink & smoke if they choose.

I'm sticking to my guns on this one. This is one of those cases where I have to side with the judge.

 

I didn't say they were.
I said whose next? christians? next they'll tell you you can't take your kids to church if they don't want to go.
if we want religious freedom, then we have to allow it to all others. if we stop anyones religeous freedom, we stop our own.

 

wc:I would find it hard to believe that this child's parents have supported and nurtured him for 13 years and would now wish for him to die: I think they love him and are truely searching for what they hope is both the best treatment for him and that which will support a healthy future.... or give him quality to his days. People do live with cancer, die with cancer, and sometimes it permanently remisses, sometimes with conventional treatment, sometimes with alternative treatment, and sometimes without any explanation. As long as medicine and pharmaceutical companies and research is aimed at pallitive care instead of cure (in this and other chronic conditions)... I find it implausible that they have the right to 'play God' against the God given right of our free choice to chose the treatment of OUR choice. (As long as it is not infringing upon the rights of others..... I don't think the government has the right to judge on what we base our beliefs.) The pharmaceutical industry reaps big profits and has huge investments in lobbying to protect its interest, and have beded with officials in government regulating agencies..... and with medicine.... supporting CEU's, sponsoring medical literature and professional journal, consorting with and choosing how their own experimental investigations are conducted and what constitutes 'relevant' in outcomes..... and actually 'teach' the doctors about 97% of what they know regarding what drugs to recommend and how to prescribe. Today, most of what we know about nutrition and the metabolics of the body was studied and revealed before 1950. There is no money in a nutrient..... until a company, like Monsanto perhaps, designs and patents a genetically altered vegetation or zoological product. In the meantime, the phamaceutical companies raise issues of concern over purity, benefits, testimonals and incidental reports, of supplements (vitamins and minerals) and herbal remedies, and encourage the increased enforcement of the FDA against these industries and the 'organics'. They do nothing to encourage or support independant research.

Medicine is big business: As in the words of one of the Rockerfellars " The only sin is competition." Built in obsolescence creates needs for replacements in machinery and electronics... cp programs, etc. Built in complexities of laws creates need for lawyer interpretation... and 'creative' interpretaions, and extensions or postponement of cases increase fees. And in medicine, maintaining a person in a stablized chronic condition insures dependance on medicine and doctors, and when medications over a period of time interfere with the normal metabolics of the body, there's an increase in new and chronic conditions..... which increase the need for specialist and more medicines..... none of which are aimed at determining if there is a natural contributing cause that if corrected would produce cure or stabilization without the added chemotherapeutics of medicine. I do believe most doctors have their heart in the right place and want to help their patients: But I also believe they are strongly discouraged to think beyond conventional medicine and what is taught in their professional literature.... and many are not aware of how influencial the pharmaceutical industry is upon their professions to limit their access to or the publishing of information which conflicts with the special interest and profit motives of the industry.

I agree and acknowledge with Marcia regarding the 'new age' influence of this sect associated with unconventional treatment options. But, I think God gave us everything we need to have and maintain health and for healing contained within the plants he put on this earth. I believe and have faith that he so constructed these as complete in their nutrition and healing qualities if fully known; the side effects we see from laboratory chemical 'look alikes' aren't that at all...... and we'd find that God made the molecular structure, minerals, vitamins, and enzymes in these plants in such perfect compliment and complete which artificial isolation and manufactered duplication cannot mimic.

Recognizing that there may be some ancient healing knowledge and 'wisdom' using plants and herbs, which has been passed along in the traditions of pagon and indigenous populations is not the same thing as accepting their religion.... unless we start associating superstition or worship with such. In the end of it all..... we either have faith in God and trust whatever are the instruments of our healing to his care.... or we make our attempts, whether conventional or not, in our own strength and in the wisdom of man.

Often, too, we assume that 'its God's will' that all are healed .....just like his will that all might be saved..... but not all are saved even though this is his desire.... and not all are healed.... nor does the need for healing of our mortal body equivalent to the importance of the salvation of our soul. Even Paul had a 'thorne in the flesh' which God allowed, which he recognized as the buffeting by Satan..... he kept the faith and accepted the strength God gave him though reminded repeatedly of the weakness of mortal flesh. It's not what kills us which matters.... but for who and for what we lived.