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EDHS Contemporary World Affairs -> Discussion Topics, Week O -> Mom prepared to allow son to undergo chemotherapy
Post Info TOPIC: Mom prepared to allow son to undergo chemotherapy
moniCA92870


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Mom prepared to allow son to undergo chemotherapy
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http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/05/25/minnesota.forced.chemo/index.html

  • Mother will accept whatever treatment court orders, lawyer says
  • Boy in legal custody of court, but will remain with mom if she cooperates
  • 13-year-old needs chemotherapy, doctors and court say
  • Treatment's side effects concerned the boy's parents

to continue the discussion, can individuals refuse medical treatment if they choose to? 

here's another story- a bit similar to the one above: 

On Easter Sunday of 2008, 11-year-old Kara Neumann of Weston, Wisconsin, suffered waves of nausea as she lay motionless on her deathbed, too weak to walk or speak. Kara's parents both followers of the Unleavened Bread Ministries, an online church that shuns medical intervention knelt in prayer beside their dying daughter. They did not call a doctor for help. A few hours later, Kara died of diabetes, a relatively common and treatable condition. 

Within weeks, a Wisconsin state attorney brought charges of reckless endangerment against Kara's parents, Dale and Leilani Neumann. The couple protested on grounds of religious freedom, but Judge Vincent Howard of Marathon County Circuit Court ordered Mr. and Mrs. Neumann to stand trial this spring. If convicted, each faces up to 25 years in prison. Unleavened Bread Ministries immediately released a statement saying the couple is being unfairly punished for the "crime of praying."

 The Neumanns' highly anticipated trial has sparked new debate in a long-running battle over faith healing in the United States. Under current Wisconsin law, a parent cannot be convicted of child abuse or negligent homicide if they can prove they genuinely believed thatcalling God, instead of a doctor, was the best option available for their child. The law is part of the legacy of the 1996 Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act, which included a landmark exemption for parents who do not seek medical care for their children for religious purposes. While all states give social service authorities the right to intervene in cases of child neglect, criminal codes in 29 other states also provide additional protection for parents who forgo mainstream medical treatment. 

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1877352,00.html

there was also a law and order episode on recently dealing with these kinds of issues.  It was about a woman who didn't believe in getting a measles shot for her son.  her son did get the measles but it passed and she didn't think anything of it.  but it turns out that she had taken her son to the park while he was infected and another little girl (can't remember how old she was supposed to be) caught them.  She ended up dying. So the mom of the son ended up going to trial and they were deciding whether she should be considered the murder of the little girl.   

so should we require parents to get shots to prevent flu and measles for their children as a public safety issue or should it still be up to them??



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KW00D


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I really think that parents have a responsibility to their children to make sure they receive the proper medical treatment. I mean, if you're not ready to take care of your children to the fullest extent, why have children at all?

All beliefs aside, their priorities should be to the children and their health, before they participate/ follow unorthodox beliefs(unorthodox in the literary sense, not the religious :] )

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ghan28


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some people really believe in the power of healing through religion, but when your child's life is at stake, its wrong to neglect your child of proper medical treatment.

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KW00D


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ghan28 wrote:

some people really believe in the power of healing through religion, but when your child's life is at stake, its wrong to neglect your child of proper medical treatment.



 I agree. Although I think that it's wrong to neglect all medicine completely in search of "spiritual healings." They should be grateful that God, or whoever they believe in, gave Man the ability to prolong life with advances in medicine, you know?



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edepuy


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that's like that one story where the guy is in a flood and says that God told him he would save him. i don't really remember all the details, but it's kinda like this.. the guy's on his roof and a man in a boat comes and tells him to get it so he'll be safe. the guys says no, God's gonna save me. someone else comes to save him and he says the same thing. finally, he's almost submerged in water and a helicopter comes to get him, and his reply is the same. the man dies and gets to heaven and asks God why He didn't save him. God says i did dummy i sent 3 different people to save you.


it's kinda like that. you can still pray and bring your child to the doctor. the doctors aren't telling you, you can't follow through with your beliefs. but your child should come first and if there are shots and medicines that can heal your child when they are sick, that is all that should matter.

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Luis777


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totally agree..

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Captain John Manassero


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i think it is really cool that his mom is so confident that alternative treatment will work, but the boy is young and he might not understand the severity of his condition. it was good of her to give in to the law and allow her son to get treatment. i'm sure they can use chemo in lieu of other things as well. everyone wins.

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edepuy


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KW00D wrote:

ghan28 wrote:

some people really believe in the power of healing through religion, but when your child's life is at stake, its wrong to neglect your child of proper medical treatment.



 I agree. Although I think that it's wrong to neglect all medicine completely in search of "spiritual healings." They should be grateful that God, or whoever they believe in, gave Man the ability to prolong life with advances in medicine, you know?


exactly!

 



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