Government Enforced Medical Treatment

[Bowwowmeow]

Judge Orders Teen to Cancer Treatment

http://my.eimg.net/harvest_xml/NEWS/img/20060721/44c05140_3ca7_15527200607211015328874.jpg (http://enews.earthlink.net/article/pho?guid=20060721/44c05140_3ca7_15527200607211015328874&article_path=/article/hea&article_guid=20060722/44c1a2c0_3ca6_1552620060722157618731)

Starchild Abraham Cherrix, left, and his father, Jay, look over a big onion in their kayaking shop in Chincoteague, Va., seen in this June 26, 2006, file photo. STEVE HELBER

By SONJA BARISIC (Associated Press Writer)
From Associated Press
July 22, 2006 10:13 PM EDT
NORFOLK, Va. - A judge has ruled that a 16-year-old boy fighting to use alternative treatment for his cancer must report to a hospital by Tuesday and accept treatment that doctors deem necessary, the family's attorney said.
The judge on Friday also found Starchild Abraham Cherrix's parents were neglectful for allowing him to pursue alternative treatment of a sugar-free, organic diet and herbal supplements supervised by a clinic in Mexico, lawyer John Stepanovich said.
Jay and Rose Cherrix of Chincoteague on Virginia's Eastern Shore must continue to share custody of their son with the Accomack County Department of Social Services, as the judge had previously ordered, Stepanovich said.
The parents were devastated by the new order and planned to appeal, the lawyer said.
Stepanovich said he will ask a higher court on Monday to stay enforcement of the order, which requires the parents to take Abraham to Children's Hospital of the King's Daughters in Norfolk and to give the oncologist their written legal consent to treat their son for Hodgkin's disease.
"I want to caution all parents of Virginia: Look out, because Social Services may be pounding on your door next when they disagree with the decision you've made about the health care of your child," Stepanovich said.
Phone calls to the Cherrix home went unanswered.
The lawyer declined to release the ruling, saying juvenile court Judge Jesse E. Demps has sealed much of the case.
Social Services officials have declined to comment, citing privacy laws.
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.
I think this is pretty damn scary. I sure hope they can overturn this.

[Gliondrach]

He is old enough to make up his own mind. Good luck to him.

[thevegantwins]

Social services seems never to be around when truly needed but right there when not needed.

[Oracl]

I think this is pretty damn scary. I sure hope they can overturn this.
Yes, very scary. :(

[Bowwowmeow]

The natural health community is outraged at 16-year-old Abraham Cherrix being forced into chemotherapy treatment by a Judge's decision. Cherrix, a native of Chincoteague, Va., was diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease last summer and began chemotherapy soon after. Cherrix felt the treatment was poisoning him rather than saving him, and refused further treatments. He then made the choice, along with his parents Jay and Rose Cherrix, to pursue alternative therapies such as eliminating sugar from his diet and eating organic foods, all under the guidance of a doctor in Mexico.
Cherrix's decision was reported to the Accomack County Department of Social Services, and a judge ordered Cherrix to undergo conventional treatments or be put in juvenile detention. Additionally, his parents (http://www.newstarget.com/parents.html) Jay and Rose were found to be neglectful in their decision to allow Cherrix to make his own health decisions, and now have to share custody of their son with social services.
The backlash from the natural health (http://www.newstarget.com/natural_health.html) community has been fierce and widespread. Natural health sites such as The Liberty Papers, Hammer of Truth and Wavy.com have each covered Cherrix's story, as well as Health Ranger Mike Adams' exploration of the case alongside other examples of what he calls, "Gunpoint Medicine."
"It all makes me wonder: With all the talk about "freedom (http://www.newstarget.com/freedom.html)" today, didn't anybody stop to think about the freedoms (http://www.newstarget.com/freedoms.html) we desperately need right here at home?" Adams said. "The true enemies of freedom, it seems, have medical degrees. They don't wield weapons of mass destruction delivered by rockets, they wield chemical weapons delivered by injection."
Hammer of Truth writer Michelle Shinghal specifically states that she is not supporting alternative therapy over conventional therapy (at least in this case), but is simply outraged that the state insists it has the right to force someone to choose one way or the other.
Even such mainstream news sources as Virginia's own WAVY-TV and the Virginia Pilot have offered high-profile coverage of this medical injustice.
It would seem that Cherrix plight is so horrifying, that both aspects of the media -- alternative health and mainstream press -- have banded together to tell his story. While Cherrix and his parents struggle to maintain a grip on his "guaranteed" freedoms in the courts, it is public education and outcry that has the only chance of protecting other children (and maybe, later, adults) from state-sponsored poisoning and medical bullying.

As Adams said about the case, "With the Judge's decision on Abraham Cherrix, it is now apparent that the state believes a family that follows a no-sugar, organic diet while preventing disease with medicinal herbs is engaged in child abuse. This idea is utterly absurd. That the most health-conscious parents in the country, who say no to junk foods, toxic prescription drugs and radical cancer treatments for their children, would be labeled criminals is an affront to every natural law known to humankind. It demonstrates, beyond any doubt, that combining our modern medical system with our legal system produces an extremely dangerous system of control that represents a very real threat to the health, the safety and the freedoms of all Americans." From www.newstarget.com/019746.html (http://www.newstarget.com/019746.html)

[Bowwowmeow]

Teen With Cancer Can Forgo Chemotherapy


http://my.eimg.net/harvest_xml/NEWS/img/20060816/44e29840_3ca7_1552720060816-1265253869.jpg (http://enews.earthlink.net/article/pho?guid=20060816/44e29840_3ca7_1552720060816-1265253869&article_path=/article/nat&article_guid=20060816/44e29840_3ca6_1552620060816-665171718)

Starchild Abraham Cherrix, center, hugs family friend Sharon Smith, right, as his mother Rose, left, looks on after a hearing at the Accomack County Courthouse in Accomac, Va., Wednesday, Aug. STEVE HELBER

By SONJA BARISIC (Associated Press Writer)
From Associated Press
August 16, 2006 10:04 AM EDT
ACCOMAC, Va. - A 16-year-old cancer patient 's legal fight ended in victory Wednesday when his family's attorneys and social services officials reached an agreement that would allow him to forgo chemotherapy.
At the start of what was scheduled to be a two-day hearing, Accomack County Circuit Judge Glen A. Tyler announced that both sides had reached a consent decree, which Tyler approved.
Under the decree, Starchild Abraham Cherrix, who is battling Hodgkin's disease, will be treated by an oncologist of his choice who is board-certified in radiation therapy and interested in alternative treatments. The family must provide the court updates on Abraham's treatment and condition every three months until he's cured or turns 18.
Tyler emphasized that the decree states that the parents weren't medically neglectful.
Abraham saw the doctor last week, and defense attorneys told the judge that the doctor has indicated that he thinks that Abraham can be cured.
After the short hearing, the judge looked at Abraham and said, "God bless you, Mr. Cherrix."
Last summer, the teen was diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease, a cancer of the lymphatic system considered very treatable in its early stages. He was so debilitated by three months of chemotherapy that he declined a second, more intensive round that doctors recommended early this year.
He since has been using an alternative herbal treatment called the Hoxsey method, the sale of which was banned in the United States in 1960.
After Abraham chose to go on the sugar-free, organic diet and take liquid herbal supplements under the supervision of a Mexican clinic, a social worker asked a juvenile court judge to intervene to protect the teen's health. Last month, the judge found Abraham's parents neglectful and ordered Abraham to report to a hospital for treatment as doctors deem necessary.
Lawyers for the family appealed, and an Accomack County Circuit Court judge suspended that order and scheduled a new trial to settle the dispute. The judge scheduled the trial for two days but has indicated he would like to finish in one, said John Stepanovich, a lawyer for the parents.
Abraham is still on the Hoxsey method, but Stepanovich stressed that the family hasn't ruled out other possible treatments, such as immunotherapy or radiation treatment in small doses.
According to the American Cancer Society, there is no scientific evidence that Hoxsey is effective in treating cancer in people. The herbal treatment is illegal in the United States but can be obtained through clinics in Mexico, and some U.S. naturopathic practitioners use adapted versions of the formula.

---
On the Net:
Abraham Cherrix: http://www.abrahamsjourney.com
American Cancer Society information about Hoxsey method:
http://www.cancer.org/docroot/ETO/content/ETO_5_3X_Hoxsey_Herbal_Treatment.a
sp?siteareaETO

I did wonder how on earth they would manage to force chemo on this poor kid against his will. It conjured images of him being handcuffed and dragged into the hospital and forced to submit to injections while being restrained. Very frightening images for a so-called "free" country. I am glad it didn't work. :yea: :yea: :yea:

[Gliondrach]

Good.

[Oracl]

:agree: Very good news! :thumbsup:

[Cherie]

geez, that WAS scary.:updn: