Re:OT: More religious craziness

Do us all a favor. Since you can't seem to put an OT in your political cut
and pastes, can you at least use an OT when you have an Original Thought?
That way we'll know to ignore those posts as well. Prolly never happen
though, since you need to have an Original Thought first...

--Mike

"HK" <payer33859@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:u72dnZYBHaPSbZfXnZ2dnUVZ_hydnZ2d@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Judge to decide case of Minn. boy resisting chemo

The Associated Press - Tuesday, May 12, 2009
MINNEAPOLIS

A Minnesota judge is weighing whether to force a 13-year-old boy who
claims to be a medicine man in his church to get chemotherapy for his
cancer - a treatment the boy and his parents have resisted for religious
reasons.

Daniel Hauser, of Sleepy Eye, has Hodgkin's lymphoma, and county
authorities are accusing his parents of medical neglect for not following
through with the chemotherapy and radiation treatment doctors have
recommended.

Doctors testified in court last week that Daniel could have a 90 percent
chance of being cured through chemotherapy and radiation. But they said
there's a 95 percent chance of death if the family decides to forgo the
treatment.

In written final arguments filed Tuesday, Brown County Attorney James
Olson asked the judge to order chemotherapy for the boy, who he says isn't
mature enough to make his own medical decisions. Olson wrote that Daniel
has a learning disability and cannot read, and he cited testimony from
doctors who said it doesn't appear the boy understands the severity of his
diagnosis.

Olson also raised questions about the Hausers' testimony that Daniel is a
medicine man and elder in the Nemenhah church, a religious organization
that advocates natural healing methods used by some Native Americans.
Those titles are given to every member of the church over 13 years of age,
Olson said.

"Daniel's testimony indicated that he does not have a complete
understanding of what it means to be a medicine man or an elder," he
wrote.

If the family doesn't comply with a potential court-ordered treatment
regimen, the county attorney and the boy's guardian ad litem wrote, Daniel
should be put in foster care to get the treatment.

But attorneys for Daniel and his family said the judge must decide whether
Daniel's parents had a "rational basis" for their decision to stop
chemotherapy - not whether they made the decision a "reasonable person"
would have made.

Philip Elbert, an attorney for Daniel, wrote that the Hausers' faced an
"unfair choice of two bad scenarios" for treatment and weighed all options
for his care in deciding on an alternative that fit better with their
religious beliefs.

"The parents in this case did not fail to act nor did they rely solely on
spiritual treatment methods for Daniel's medical care," Elbert wrote.

Daniel's mother, Colleen, has said she approved of using Western medicine
during a life-threatening emergency but says her son isn't in medical
danger. The family has also said their religious convictions say the body
shouldn't be harmed, and they said chemotherapy and radiation were
poisons.

Daniel's parents emphasized through their attorney the risks of
chemotherapy, questioning its effectiveness. And they said the action by
county authorities was violating their rights.

"The path advocated by the State is one of torture and criminal action,"
wrote their attorney, Calvin Johnson.

Daniel's lymphoma was diagnosed in January, and he was given one round of
chemotherapy in February. But instead of returning for a second round of
the treatment in March, the Hausers opted for an alternative treatment
involving a nutritious diet, drinking ionized water, and taking vitamins
and herbal supplements. His mother testified the regimen was based mostly
on information she found on the Internet.

An attorney for Shiree Oliver, the boy's guardian ad litem, wrote in final
arguments that the state has not recognized complementary and alternative
health care as a substitute for medical treatment.

"Even if Mr. and Mrs. Hauser are providing Daniel with complementary and
alternative care, they are still medically neglecting Daniel," the
attorney, Tom Sinas, wrote.

Judge John Rodenberg could issue a decision later this week.


.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: More religious craziness
    ... A Minnesota judge is weighing whether to force a 13-year-old boy who claims to be a medicine man in his church to get chemotherapy for his cancer - a treatment the boy and his parents have resisted for religious reasons. ... Daniel Hauser, of Sleepy Eye, has Hodgkin's lymphoma, and county authorities are accusing his parents of medical neglect for not following through with the chemotherapy and radiation treatment doctors have recommended. ... In written final arguments filed Tuesday, Brown County Attorney James Olson asked the judge to order chemotherapy for the boy, who he says isn't mature enough to make his own medical decisions. ...
    (rec.boats)
  • Re: OT: More religious craziness
    ... A Minnesota judge is weighing whether to force a 13-year-old boy who claims to be a medicine man in his church to get chemotherapy for his cancer - a treatment the boy and his parents have resisted for religious reasons. ... Daniel Hauser, of Sleepy Eye, has Hodgkin's lymphoma, and county authorities are accusing his parents of medical neglect for not following through with the chemotherapy and radiation treatment doctors have recommended. ... In written final arguments filed Tuesday, Brown County Attorney James Olson asked the judge to order chemotherapy for the boy, who he says isn't mature enough to make his own medical decisions. ...
    (rec.boats)
  • More religious craziness
    ... A Minnesota judge is weighing whether to force a 13-year-old boy who claims to be a medicine man in his church to get chemotherapy for his cancer - a treatment the boy and his parents have resisted for religious reasons. ... Daniel Hauser, of Sleepy Eye, has Hodgkin's lymphoma, and county authorities are accusing his parents of medical neglect for not following through with the chemotherapy and radiation treatment doctors have recommended. ... In written final arguments filed Tuesday, Brown County Attorney James Olson asked the judge to order chemotherapy for the boy, who he says isn't mature enough to make his own medical decisions. ...
    (rec.boats)
  • Re: Whats the harm?
    ... which means you have no evidence ... comparing chemotherapy with no treatment became unethical as soon as it the ... you wear on behalf of your sponsors. ...
    (misc.health.alternative)
  • Re: Prostate Cancer Treatment Poses Bone Risk -Study
    ... > prostate cancer, even though it prolongs the life of a few. ... chemotherapy does offer the hope of a cure. ... The National Cancer Institute's Adult Treatment Board publishes regularly ...
    (sci.med.diseases.cancer)
Loading