Saturday, July 22, 2006

The Man knows best

If you haven't heard the story of Starchild Abraham Cherrix, you need to hear of him. He is a 16 year old with Hodgkin's Disease. Here is his basic story:


After three months of chemotherapy last year made him nauseated and weak, Abraham rejected doctors' recommendations to go through a second round when he learned early this year that his Hodgkin's disease, a cancer of the lymph nodes, was active again.

A social worker then asked a judge to require the teen to continue conventional treatment. In May, the judge issued a temporary order finding Abraham's parents neglectful and awarding partial custody to the county,
with Abraham continuing to live at home with his four siblings.

http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/07/21/D8J0MGOO1.html


I don't understand why the government feels that it needs to be involved in every family situation. Laws about medical right seem to outrightly contradict each other. Parents do not have the legal right to know if their child has HIV, because it is the child's right to withhold that information from their parents because the child's right to control his medical information and treatment under HIPAA. While I disagree and believe a parent needs to know if their child has HIV, it the law and would seem to contradict the ruling in Abraham's case. By restricting the information from parents, the government has said that a child know what is best for him or her. Abraham's family and Abraham feel that the standard medical treatment is not for him. If Abraham is choosing the course of treatment, why is some paper pusher more qualified to make the decision. I may disagree with the decision and feel it is unwise, but it is not my decision to make.

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