Appollynon
Jedi Master
Teen cancer patient seeks to stop judge's treatment order
Here's the latest on this very interesting story. Im hoping now that full custody of the young lad has been given back to his parent (pending a further trial) that this madness will now end, and he may continue his homeopathic treatments as he chooses to do.
It would be really great if this "the state" got a kick in the ass for trying to interfere with the rights of young Abraham. Hopefully they will treat the family and him with respect by allowing them to make their own mind up about how to deal with his welfare and how best to treat this disease.
At least this week and for now the young lad and his parents aren't going to have chemo treatment forced upon them without their consent...I only hope this case works out for the family involved and that it may set a precedent for cases in the future when the nanny state tries to interfere.
They are right when they say this is a case about who gets to decide, the pathocratic "deciders" of the state or the boy and his own parents. I'm firmly with Abraham and his parents on this and their right to decide for themselves.
Found here
http://home.hamptonroads.com/stories/story.cfm?story=108097&ran=203691&tref=po
Here's the latest on this very interesting story. Im hoping now that full custody of the young lad has been given back to his parent (pending a further trial) that this madness will now end, and he may continue his homeopathic treatments as he chooses to do.
It would be really great if this "the state" got a kick in the ass for trying to interfere with the rights of young Abraham. Hopefully they will treat the family and him with respect by allowing them to make their own mind up about how to deal with his welfare and how best to treat this disease.
At least this week and for now the young lad and his parents aren't going to have chemo treatment forced upon them without their consent...I only hope this case works out for the family involved and that it may set a precedent for cases in the future when the nanny state tries to interfere.
They are right when they say this is a case about who gets to decide, the pathocratic "deciders" of the state or the boy and his own parents. I'm firmly with Abraham and his parents on this and their right to decide for themselves.
Found here
http://home.hamptonroads.com/stories/story.cfm?story=108097&ran=203691&tref=po
A 16-year-old Chincoteague boy with Hodgkin's disease will not have to resume conventional cancer treatment while another court hears his case.
Accomack County Circuit Court Judge Glen Tyler on Tuesday suspended lower court orders that the parents of Abraham Cherrix take their son to Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters in Norfolk this week and give their consent to whatever treatment the hospital deems necessary.
The judge also returned full custody of Abraham to his parents, pending a Circuit Court trial scheduled for Aug. 16.
Abraham and his family celebrated the decision Tuesday afternoon by hugging each other and their lawyers. "I feel like I have been released," Abraham said after the hearing.
Abraham wants to continue using an alternative treatment called the Hoxsey method, which consists of herbal supplements and an organic diet. He has been using the method with his parents' support since visiting a clinic in Tijuana, Mexico, in March.
Representatives from the Department of Social Services have asked the court to require he return to chemotherapy and radiation treatment for his own safety. A juvenile judge issued an order Friday that the parents return him to that treatment.
The case has drawn sharply divided opinions nationwide, with some maintaining that government has no right to interfere in a family's health-care choices, and others believing that Abraham needs to resume chemotherapy to save his life.
At Tuesday's hearing, John Stepanovich, who represents Abraham's parents, said if the boy were forced by the court to resume chemotherapy, his opportunity to appeal the decision would be taken away from him.
"There's no way to undo that treatment," Stepanovich said.
Virginia Attorney General Bob McDonnell filed a brief in juvenile court on Monday supporting that point, and requesting the juvenile court order be suspended, pending an appeal.
McDonnell's spokesman, J. Tucker Martin, said the attorney general was concerned about protecting people's right to an appeal in Circuit Court.
Carl Bundick, an attorney for the Accomack County Department of Social Services, told the judge the department wants Abraham to have appropriate treatment as soon as possible.
"Timing is of critical importance," Bundick said. "What the department is interested in is that this young man be cured of cancer."
The type of lymphatic cancer Abraham has is highly treatable in early stages. Abraham had court-ordered X-rays at CHKD in June. He also had a June follow-up exam with his doctors at the Biomedical Center in Mexico, where he's receiving the Hoxsey treatment.
Both exams showed that his tumors - one in his neck and one near his windpipe - had grown since February.
Tuesday's ruling suspends not just the orders issued by Judge Jesse E. Demps of Accomack County Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court, but also gives the family a trial independent of the lower court proceedings.
Tyler ruled that the Circuit Court proceedings would be open to the public, unlike the case's closed hearings in juvenile court.
The family has been fighting in court since May to allow Abraham to use the Hoxsey method. Abraham tried one round of chemotherapy at CHKD in Norfolk last fall, which left him nauseated, weak and feverish.
When tests in February found the cancer still active, doctors there ordered more chemotherapy, plus radiation. His parents believe CHKD officials reported them to Social Services.
"This is not a case about what treatment is best," Step?anovich said after the hearing. "It's a case about who gets to decide."
Officials from CHKD and Social Services have declined to comment to the press, citing federal privacy guidelines.
Staff writer Warren Fiske contributed to this report