Should We Force People Into Obtaining Medical Care?

[Wiley]

Or do you think that folks need to have the correct to refuse health-related remedy that can save their lives??http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090520/ap_on_re_us/us_forced_chemo A young boy(13yo) and his mother have disappeared after court ordered chemo treatment options had been pushed on the kid. The kid and parents belong to a religious group who does not believe in medical remedy, favoring as an alternative "organic" treatment. Me personally, I feel people ought to be permitted to refuse remedy. Positive, it is most likely to kill them, but that is their business, not mine or the courts(as far as I am concerned.) Besides, I sometimes wonder if we are not artificially forcing our race to evolve into a weaker, a lot more stupid/much less rational 1: we defend people from themselves and then market them getting offspring...and we wonder why every little thing is going downhill... What say you?

[Derick]

It is his physique, let him do what he wants with it.  And getting chemo does not imply he will be cured.  I have a friend and there son has been thru chemo three occasions.  He can inform you horror stories about it and how it makes him feel.  He is in remission now, and he is a common 12 yr old boy, except he is not as carefree as most little ones are.   If the kid was going to bleed to death or have a limb fall off if treatment was not accomplished, that is 1 issue, but to force a particular person to suffer thru chemo.  NO WAY.    I look back on when I was a kid and how we had been treated and how a loved ones was treated and permitted to raise their little ones their way, and now it is so various.  It's scarey in many techniques.    Several of the things our Fantastic Nation was founded on look to be tossed away to the idea that common society is the way everything must be.  It's also so sad, and I worry how it will be when my son is my age and is raisng a household...  Will Parents have any say in something then?????

[Reg]

For example, folks resisting vaccinations are catching all kinds of ridicule from others who ignore the obvious background: vaccinations are made using mercury, the very thing implicated in a number of autism cases. Careful and whatnot is all well and good, but if a mistake is made, the parent gets to pay the price. If the parent wishes to decline the risk of paying that price . . . we know of a daughter of a family(from about 15 years ago) who has four kids, and each one was born healthy and normal, but began to show signs of autism immediately AFTER some vaccinations. Yah, this happened four times in a row. Oh, and Social Services got involved, not to protect the kids from vaccinations, but to charge the mother with not adequately caring for an autistic child. Stuff like that makes folks simply say "Never mind."

[morcan]

Yes and no I think it really varies.  Yes I beliee in the Darwin Theroy of Evolution...  However with all the current ways our society and government control us and restrict our actual freedoms there are a lot of things we are powerless over.  This is one of them.   I think first off, it it is something that WILL save the life, of a child, yes it should be done, esp if the child is too young to be able to make up his or her mind.  However, Chemo does not Guarentee anything, and the affects of it are not fun!!  In this case I think the child should have a say, and do as the child wants.  Kids at 13 know a lot and when its their life, they should have the final say.  It it was a preteen or younger, then I would say the Courts could/should be considered.  But Chemo is no guarentee for a cure!   Also I believe a while back, in Oregon, a the parents were charged with neglect and maybe even abuse when they refused care for thier child that would save his/her life.  There were actually 2 kids, one a teen, liek 14ish and the other grade school aged.  The courts said the teen coudl make his/her own mind up as it was their life but the younger child needed someone else to make the proper choice for his well being and the parents were not looking out for the health and well being of the child.   With all the child welfare and social services we have, the think and feel they "are acting in the best interests of the child" but that in it self can be debated.  The emotional distress and harm a child is put thru when removed from a home and placed in foster care and then the stress and guilt the child has later on when they get reurned home or if placed for adoption is great!    I think the mother did the right thing in this case, and the court was out of line.  If that judge and the social services workers were to agree to undergo several chemo sessions so they would then have some understanding as to what the child would suffer, then they could make a better determination.  But until then, they have no right to force a child to go thru the pain a chemo, when he and his family don't want it, or believe in it.  And a lot of medicine is still beleaving in what you are taking and that it will help you get better.  If you dont believe, you normally will not get better....    This is just another case where the Courts feel they can better parent a child than the parents can.  Where has our great country gone, when we dont even have the Freedom to Parent our own kids how we want to... Sources: My life experiences and my thoughts as a single adopting/foster daddy with 5 fun loving boys ages 6-16 all with ADHD & enuresis!   GlacierWaterIsCold's Recommendations Healing Powers of Pets, The: Harnessing the Amazing Ability of Pets to Make and Keep People Happy and Healthy Amazon List Price: $14.95 Used from: $1.66 Average Customer Rating: 5.0 out of 5(based on 23 reviews) Raising Cain: Protecting the Emotional Life of Boys Amazon List Price: $15.00 Used from: $2.09 Average Customer Rating: 4.5 out of 5(based on 114 reviews) Real Boys : Rescuing Our Sons from the Myths of Boyhood Amazon List Price: $17.00 Used from: $0.01 Average Customer Rating: 4.0 out of 5(based on 119 reviews) The Healing Power of Play: Working with Abused Children Amazon List Price: $28.00 Used from: $17.50 Average Customer Rating: 5.0 out of 5(based on 5 reviews) The Healing Power of Mind(Buddhayana Series, VII) Amazon List Price: $14.95 Used from: $2.96 Average Customer Rating: 5.0 out of 5(based on 6 reviews) Boys of Few Words: Raising Our Sons to Communicate and Connect Amazon List Price: $14.95 Used from: $6.60 Average Customer Rating: 5.0 out of 5(based on 5 reviews) GlacierWaterIsCold 56 months ago Please sign in to give a compliment. Please verify your account to give a compliment. Please sign in to send a message. Please verify your account to send a message.

[Hareleah]

I say as an adult you can decide not to get treatment...but as for a minor I feel its up to the responsible adult do what ever it takes to keep your child well and healthy until they are able to make that descion on their own. I said this in a prev post about this same story that I beleive the only reason why this boy is refusing treatment is because thats how his parents raised him to feel...and I don't agree with it but in the long run the parents are going to have to face the pain of losing their son and knowing they did nothing to about it.

[Burlie]

The problem with that is the tenuous state of some technologies. For example, folks resisting vaccinations are catching all kinds of ridicule from others who ignore the obvious background: vaccinations are made using mercury, the very thing implicated in a number of autism cases. Careful and whatnot is all well and good, but if a mistake is made, the parent gets to pay the price. If the parent wishes to decline the risk of paying that price . . . we know of a daughter of a family(from about 15 years ago) who has four kids, and each one was born healthy and normal, but began to show signs of autism immediately AFTER some vaccinations. Yah, this happened four times in a row. Oh, and Social Services got involved, not to protect the kids from vaccinations, but to charge the mother with not adequately caring for an autistic child. Stuff like that makes folks simply say "Never mind." danielpauldavis 56 months ago Please sign in to give a compliment. Please verify your account to give a compliment. Please sign in to send a message. Please verify your account to send a message.

[Cathair]

I think it really varies.  Yes I beliee in the Darwin Theroy of Evolution...  However with all the current ways our society and government control us and restrict our actual freedoms there are a lot of things we are powerless over.  This is one of them.   I think first off, it it is something that WILL save the life, of a child, yes it should be done, esp if the child is too young to be able to make up his or her mind.  However, Chemo does not Guarentee anything, and the affects of it are not fun!!  In this case I think the child should have a say, and do as the child wants.  Kids at 13 know a lot and when its their life, they should have the final say.  It it was a preteen or younger, then I would say the Courts could/should be considered.  But Chemo is no guarentee for a cure!   Also I believe a while back, in Oregon, a the parents were charged with neglect and maybe even abuse when they refused care for thier child that would save his/her life.  There were actually 2 kids, one a teen, liek 14ish and the other grade school aged.  The courts said the teen coudl make his/her own mind up as it was their life but the younger child needed someone else to make the proper choice for his well being and the parents were not looking out for the health and well being of the child.   With all the child welfare and social services we have, the think and feel they "are acting in the best interests of the child" but that in it self can be debated.  The emotional distress and harm a child is put thru when removed from a home and placed in foster care and then the stress and guilt the child has later on when they get reurned home or if placed for adoption is great!    I think the mother did the right thing in this case, and the court was out of line.  If that judge and the social services workers were to agree to undergo several chemo sessions so they would then have some understanding as to what the child would suffer, then they could make a better determination.  But until then, they have no right to force a child to go thru the pain a chemo, when he and his family don't want it, or believe in it.  And a lot of medicine is still beleaving in what you are taking and that it will help you get better.  If you dont believe, you normally will not get better....    This is just another case where the Courts feel they can better parent a child than the parents can.  Where has our great country gone, when we dont even have the Freedom to Parent our own kids how we want to...

[alhhard]

Children are treated differently from adults. An adult would not have been forced to take the chemo. It is assumed that parents will take steps to preserve a child's life, and if they're not, then it's treated as bad parenting. Especially in this case, where they are not simply letting the child die, but trying to treat by means that are known to be ineffective.Once the kid hits 18, if he makes it that far, he's welcome to any treatment he wants, or none. Until then, it's the parent's responsibility to keep him alive, and the court's to make sure they do it.

[Seosaph]

no It is his body, let him do what he wants with it.  And having chemo does not mean he will be cured.  I have a friend and there son has been thru chemo 3 times.  He can tell you horror stories about it and how it makes him feel.  He is in remission now, and he is a typical 12 yr old boy, except he is not as carefree as most kids are.   If the kid was going to bleed to death or have a limb fall off if treatment was not done, that is one thing, but to force a person to suffer thru chemo.  NO WAY.    I look back on when I was a kid and how we were treated and how a family was treated and allowed to raise their kids their way, and now it is so different.  It's scarey in many ways.    Many of the things our Great Nation was founded on seem to be tossed away to the idea that popular society is the way everything must be.  It's also so sad, and I fear how it will be when my son is my age and is raisng a family...  Will Parents have any say in anything then????? Sources: being a single dad to a 10yr old boy fish4walleye 56 months ago Please sign in to give a compliment. Please verify your account to give a compliment. Please sign in to send a message. Please verify your account to send a message.

[Brendan]

Lena3018 said: 2 I say as an adult you can decide not to get treatment...but as for a minor I feel its up to the responsible adult do what ever it takes to keep your child well and healthy until they are able to make that descion on their own. I said this in a prev post about this same story that I beleive the only reason why this boy is refusing treatment is because thats how his parents raised him to feel...and I don't agree with it but in the long run the parents are going to have to face the pain of losing their son and knowing they did nothing to about it. 56 months ago