Court-ordered chemo and parental rights. Your thoughts?

Could your religious or cultural beliefs cause you to put  your child’s life at risk? Daniel Hauser is a 13-year-old boy whose mother opted him out of chemotherapy in lieu of the alternative medicines preferred by their Native American band. Doctors say chemo has a 90 percent success rate, but without the modern medicine, the boy has only a 5 percent chance of living. Yet his mother insists on alternative remedies.

Enter: Child Protection. A judge ordered the boy to resume chemo for the remaining treatments. And his mother promptly fled Minnesota with the boy and is believed to be in California.  As of today there is a felony warrant out for her arrest.

 

Do you think it’s okay for the government to step into a private family matter like this? What do you think about either (or both!) of these issues? Can you see both sides? Tell us your thoughts by clicking onto "Comments" just below.

Comments

[Lori Helman]

Once government can make decisions rather than the parent, we no longer have parental rights. We home school our children and opted out of vaccinations. Eventually, the government can interfere in these areas as well as many other parental decisions. It's quite scary.

[Baby Carriers Backpacks]

I think it's criminal that the government can intervene in such matters. It's not like the parents weren't trying to help their child! There are many ways to treat illness. Too bad the government is blind to alternatives. I think they're more concerned about upholding the money-making methods.

[Sage Moonstone]

I think most treatments only work if you believe they will.. so to force chemo on someone who doesn't feel they will be getting better from it, or will just be getting sicker. I don't think that's the right thing to do. Has anyone asked the boy what he feels will work best?

[ashley]

i only have a couple of words for this. "YES I DO!!" if the parents are this crazy then yes. thats called child indangerment