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Post Info TOPIC: Minn. Judge Rules Teen Must Be Treated For Cancer


Dooney & Bourke

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Minn. Judge Rules Teen Must Be Treated For Cancer
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A Minnesota judge has ruled a 13-year-old boy with Hodgkin's lymphoma, a highly treatable form of cancer, must seek medical treatment over his parents' objections.

In a  58 page ruling Friday, Brown County District Judge John Rodenberg found that Daniel Hauser of Sleepy Eye has been "medically neglected" and is in need of child protection services. Rodenberg said Daniel will stay in the custody of his parents, but Colleen and Anthony Hauser have until May 19 to get an updated chest X-ray for their son and select an oncologist.

Rodenberg wrote that Daniel has only a "rudimentary understanding at best of the risks and benefits of chemotherapy. ... he does not believe he is ill currently. The fact is that he is very ill currently." Because of that and other evidence in the case, Rodenberg ruled there is a "compelling state interest sufficient to override the minor's genuine opposition."

A court-appointed attorney for Daniel, Philip Elbert, called the decision unfortunate.

"I feel it's a blow to families," he said Friday. "It marginalizes the decisions that parents face every day in regard to their children's medical care. It really affirms the role that big government is better at making our decisions for us."

Elbert said he hadn't spoken to his client yet. The phone line at the Hauser home had a busy signal Friday. An attorney for the parents had no immediate comment but planned to issue a statement later in the day.

Doctors have said Daniel's cancer had up to a 90 percent chance of being cured with chemotherapy and radiation. Without those treatments, doctors said his chances of survival are 5 percent.

Daniel stopped chemotherapy in February after a single treatment. He and his parents opted instead for "alternative medicines" based on their religious beliefs. Child protection workers accused Daniel's parents of medical neglect; but in court, his mother insisted the boy wouldn't submit to chemotherapy for religious reasons and she said she wouldn't comply if the court orders it.

"Daniel loves his parents and they love him. He should remain with them as long as he receives treatment complying with the minimum standards of parental care provided by Minnesota law," Rodenberg wrote.

He also said he was following the law in the best interest of the child.

"If the Minnesota Legislature ever reconsiders the relevant statutes, I am confident that I join all of the others involved in this matter in hoping, and indeed in praying, that Daniel Hauser lives to testify at that hearing."

Daniel's parents have been supporting what they say is their son's decision to instead treat the disease with nutritional supplements and other alternative treatments favored by the Nemenhah Band. The Missouri-based religious group believes in natural healing methods advocated by some American Indians.

"This is about the right of a 13-year-old young man to be free from acts of assault on his body," said the family's attorney, Calvin Johnson, on Thursday.

Dr. Bruce Bostrom, a pediatric oncologist, diagnosed Daniel Hauser with Hodgkin's lymphoma in January and recommended he undergo chemotherapy treatments once a month for six months, followed by radiation. Daniel became gravely ill about a week later and was taken to an emergency room, Bostrom said, and the family consented to the first chemotherapy treatment.

After that, Bostrom said, the family said they wanted a second opinion. They later informed him that Daniel would not undergo any more chemotherapy. Bostrom said Daniel's tumor shrunk after the first chemotherapy session, but X-rays show it has grown since he stopped the chemotherapy.

"My son is not in any medical danger at this point," Colleen Hauser testified at a court hearing last week. She also testified that Daniel is medicine man and elder in the Nemenhah Band.

Johnson said Daniel made the decision himself to refuse chemotherapy, but Brown County said he did not have an understanding of what it meant to be a medicine man or an elder. Court filings also indicated Daniel has a learning disability and can't read.

The Hausers, who are Roman Catholic, have eight children. Colleen Hauser told the New Ulm Journal newspaper that the family's Catholicism and adherence to the Nemenhah Band are not in conflict, and said she has treated illness with natural remedies her entire life.

Nemenhah was founded in the 1990s by Philip Cloudpiler Landis, who said Thursday he once served four months in prison in Idaho for fraud related to advocating natural remedies. Landis said he founded the faith after facing his diagnosis of a cancer similar to Daniel Hauser. He said he treated it with diet choices, visits to a sweat lodge and other natural remedies.

"The issue is Danny's right to decide how he wants to live his life," Landis said. "What if they make him take chemotherapy and he dies from that? The band will mourn with the family if that's the case, but we'll rejoice that Danny had the opportunity to test the law of the land."

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According to Chemotherapy.com, chemotherapy is the general term for any treatment involving the use of chemical agents to stop cancer cells from growing. Chemotherapy can eliminate cancer cells at sites great distances from the original cancer. As a result, chemotherapy is considered a systemic treatment.




-- Edited by clothes_horse on Friday 15th of May 2009 01:48:24 PM

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Hermes

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I almost posted this myself.  I don't know what to think. On one hand, I don't like the government controlling our bodies and health decisions. On the other hand, here is a boy that will very likely die if he doesn't get chemo.  Then again, who knows, maybe the alternative medicine will work...

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Coach

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My thoughts exactly, D.

It's never so black and white.

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Marc Jacobs

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I think because he is a minor that I am ok with the Judge's decision. If he were an adult I'd disagree but I don't think a child/minor fully understands the issue/disease and treatments and what can happen. From what I have read online it seems as if he went through one treatment and showed signs of improvement and then stopped. He has been trying the alternative medicine for 3 months now (I think) and it has actually worsened his condition not helped it at all. I think it's time to go back to what was working and get him the treatment he needs before it is too late.

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Hermes

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I agree with Aurora. I say, adults can do whatever they want and try whatever they want to try (or not) to deal with their medical problems. But I don't think a minor is in a place to make that decision for himself.

But then again, it is a religious thing it sounds like.....it's so gray. In the end, I think I agree with the judge. I can see how the family could be enraged. But is this family using religion to excuse away their ignorance? If the boy doesn't even understand that he is ill to begin with, then he absolutely can't understand the situation, and it makes me wonder if the parents really understand themselves.

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Dooney & Bourke

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I have also read from a different source that he is not able to read because he is severly learning disabled. I think that is of high importance because he is not able to make a rational educated judgement because he can't even research chemo. At 13, you do not have freedom to do whatever you want to your body legally. I think that by taking the child away, the mother is making a huge mistake both for her and the child.

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Chanel

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I'm kind of interested in this story and kind of afraid to comment. As things stand, a pharmacist has the right to refuse to dispense a medication based on his/her religious beliefs. A doctor or nurse may refuse to perform a treatment or procedure for the same reason.

I see much clearer grounds for an individual to refuse medical treatment on their own behalf, or a parent to make that decision for a minor child. Christian Scientists, Jehovah Witnesses, strict Muslims - there are many religions that avoid some or all medical approaches.

What makes this family controversial IMO is that their belief system itself is outside the mainstream. It's a culture that bears little resemblance to our idea of organized religion, and we're much more uncomfortable and judgmental of their choices.

By the way in my state and several others, when a patient is diagnosed with cancer, a doctor must offer radiation, chemo, and/or surgery. It is against the law to suggest any other form of treatment. There are alternatives, some more proven and established than others, but the health care industry doesn't accept them. So I'm thinking that their refusal of chemo is one thing, but their intention to use traditional/sacred healing is another - that just makes them more challenging to the mainstream culture.

In other words if they were trying to treat their son with prayer, we might be more accepting. Since what they choose to do is portrayed as voodoo, we're not so down with it.


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