chemo against your will? Options

[PurpleDaze112]

I was checking my email just now on yahoo and a news story on the page said that a 13 year old boy was forced by the court to receive chemotherapy to treat his lymphoma. The boy and his parents agreed on trying alternative medicine to treat the illness due to religious purposes. Involuntary medical attentuon, if it has the realistic possibility of saving lives, is entirely legal if the patient is a minor.

Personally, I think that the practice should be disallowed if the minor in question is at a pyschological level that puts them in a place where professionals can be certain that the choice to forgo certain medical practices is the minor's own. But since that boy's lymphoma had a 90% chance of being wiped out by the chemo, I think he's a dumbass for not getting treatment. Still, it comes down to the fact that one can do whatever they want with their body, even if it means letting it die.

[queen]

i don't understand why this kid's getting this kind of attention. if he or his parents don't want him to be treated, why waste effort and capital on him. there are so many other people who are not getting the medical attention they need and deserve because they're getting screwed by their insurance companies or they just can't afford insurance. this sounds like the doctors just wanted a story for the media.

this is how messed up the u.s. health care system is. people who want treatement don't get it, and those who don't get forced to.