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I don't think this is an issue that can have hard and fast rules. Every time this issue arises, it's a very specific, individual situation.
Is the treatment against the parents' religious beliefs? We have to expect that any freedom we enjoy comes with costs. If the parents are fighting for their child's eternal soul, they aren't guilty of neglecting or abusing their child. The issue becomes even more complicated when both parents are not in agreement regarding the appropriate care for the child.
Is the treatment going to cure the child? Or simply extend the child's life? What are the effects of the treatment? Will the child's quality of life be impaired? How much treatment has the child previously received, and what's been the outcome of those treatments? Is this a struggle between the medical community and the parents, where the child is merely a pawn?
One of the concerns I have is that the bulk of treatments we have nowadays are not cures. Pharmaceutical companies have followed the money, and the money isn't in curing illness, it's in maintenance. We seem to have sold ourselves on the idea that it's okay to take a pill everyday in order to maintain our health. But is it really health, or just the illusion of health?
And should government be deciding these things for us?
That's so typical of "christian" thinking....TELLING people what they should believe....so sorry (not really) that some of us escaped this brainwashing.
You can say "god'" exists but it will NEVER make it true....but if your little stories make you happy....
I'm ignorant?? But YOU, an alleged ADULT, believe in some airyfairy deity that you have no proof exists....lol!
It takes just as much faith to believe in God as it does to believe that an explosion occurred out of nothing, created life, and that we evolved from a single celled organism.
If the treatments, such as chemo, are making a child very sick and miserable and the chances for survival are slim to none, again the parents should have the ability to say "no more".
Experimental last ditch chemo is rarely what I would consider 'life-saving treatment.'
I would think more like blood products for volume or iv abx and admission for meningitis, etc.
My only issue with parents choosing whether their kid lives or dies based on quality of life is that what is to stop the argument for mentally/physically incapacitated or retarded childrens' parents to say the same thing?
What the heck is going on here? Granted, I perused the article quickly and didn't sit there reading it for half an hour, but I distinctly remember reading that the kid had ONE round of treatment and that was it. No where did it say that this was some "experimental" treatment. The article says the following:
"The cancer is considered highly curable with chemotherapy and radiation, but Daniel quit chemo after a single treatment and with his parents opted instead for "alternative medicines," citing religious beliefs. That led authorities to seek custody. Rodenberg last week ruled that Daniel's parents, Colleen and Anthony Hauser, were medically neglecting their son."
This is not about arguing what side is right, but clearly a 13 year-old young man has the opportunity to get help which could save his life and because of the parents religious beliefs, he is being denied treatment.
It takes just as much faith to believe in God as it does to believe that an explosion occurred out of nothing, created life, and that we evolved from a single celled organism. """
OK, so? What has that to do with me???
Yes, you're ignorant of Christianity.
No, I know what "christianity" is, I know what "christians" say. They haven't exactly kept it a secret....
On the one hand.. parents should have the right to chose for their son/daughter. But, when such a choice is really a STUPID one (ie: 90% chance with chemo vs5% without) at what point do you protect the minor child from the stupid mistakes and poor choices of the parent?/
It would all depend too .. on how the child feels. While the parents ultimately make the decision, the child's feeling should be considered. Why is he choosing NOT to have Chemo? IS it becausehe would rather not go through the agony for the chance to live? The child needs to be able to say what he feels and why he feels that way.
IF he WANTS the chemo because he wants the better chance to live, then the decision of his parnets should be overridden in order to protect the child. IF the child wants to go with what his parents want and KNOWS the chances of survival are slim.. then it should be left alone.
It really is a tough one. Ultimately, in the end, the decision does belong to the family. THey will have to live with it.. if he dies, they'll know that they took that risk..etc.
And should government be deciding these things for us?
In this case, yes. The governments role is to offer the populace reasonable protection. Protection from terrorists, from dirty water, from crime, from scams, from invading armies and yes, from negligent, reckless, idiotic parents who will not take steps to prevent their child from dying.
The state would have no qualms about removing a child from a home that features parents not feeding the child. This is pretty similiar.
Religion? Don't make me laugh. I doubt the government would look kindly on a religion that featured human sacrifice. This is a secular republic where health concerns supercede so-called spiritual concerns.
If the parents want to deny themselves chemo, that is their right. But this is a young boy who cannot make his own decisions, even life and death ones.
Please stick to the topic, not the beliefs of your fellow posters.
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