SkyBurn
01-11-2015, 06:37 AM
An interesting case here - this girl is being forced by the court to receive chemo, increasing her chance of survival to 85% (as opposed to likely death within 2 years).
On one hand, the girl and her mother are clearly stating that they do not want the treatment, wishing to forsake it in favour of "alternative" medicine. On the other hand, the girl is only 17 (she was supposedly proven to not be mature enough to make such decisions), and probably does not comprehend the risk that refusing treatment will have.
The Connecticut Supreme Court ruled Thursday that a 17-year-old girl with cancer must continue to get chemotherapy against her will.
The girl, identified in court documents as Cassandra C., had asked the court to allow her to make her own medical decisions, even though she won't turn 18 until September. But CBS Connecticut reports the justices unanimously upheld a lower court ruling ordering her to continue treatment.
The Associated Press reports Cassandra currently is confined in a room at Connecticut Children's Medical Center in Hartford, where she is being forced to undergo chemotherapy. Doctors said the treatment would give her an 85 percent chance of survival, but without it she would likely die within two years.
Cassandra was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma four months ago. Doctors recommended she receive chemo, a common treatment for that type of cancer, but the girl refused and her mother supported her decision.
The family searched for alternative treatments, but a judge ordered Cassandra to undergo chemotherapy. After two just treatments, she ran away from home. The Connecticut Department of Children and Families (DCF) intervened and placed Cassandra into protective custody.
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/court-hears-case-of-teen-refusing-cancer-treatment/
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/10/nyregion/connecticut-teenager-with-cancer-loses-court-fight-to-refuse-chemotherapy.html?_r=0
I think I (hesitantly, since it's a very complicated issue) disagree with the courts decision. Jehovah's witnesses are allowed to refuse treatment for silly reasons, so why shouldn't this girl? I understand that the court has deemed her too immature to make such decisions, but what are they going to do? Strap her down and force the drugs into her system? She's a 17 year old girl, and even if she's walking the road to death-by-alternative-therapy, I believe in her right to do so.
On one hand, the girl and her mother are clearly stating that they do not want the treatment, wishing to forsake it in favour of "alternative" medicine. On the other hand, the girl is only 17 (she was supposedly proven to not be mature enough to make such decisions), and probably does not comprehend the risk that refusing treatment will have.
The Connecticut Supreme Court ruled Thursday that a 17-year-old girl with cancer must continue to get chemotherapy against her will.
The girl, identified in court documents as Cassandra C., had asked the court to allow her to make her own medical decisions, even though she won't turn 18 until September. But CBS Connecticut reports the justices unanimously upheld a lower court ruling ordering her to continue treatment.
The Associated Press reports Cassandra currently is confined in a room at Connecticut Children's Medical Center in Hartford, where she is being forced to undergo chemotherapy. Doctors said the treatment would give her an 85 percent chance of survival, but without it she would likely die within two years.
Cassandra was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma four months ago. Doctors recommended she receive chemo, a common treatment for that type of cancer, but the girl refused and her mother supported her decision.
The family searched for alternative treatments, but a judge ordered Cassandra to undergo chemotherapy. After two just treatments, she ran away from home. The Connecticut Department of Children and Families (DCF) intervened and placed Cassandra into protective custody.
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/court-hears-case-of-teen-refusing-cancer-treatment/
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/10/nyregion/connecticut-teenager-with-cancer-loses-court-fight-to-refuse-chemotherapy.html?_r=0
I think I (hesitantly, since it's a very complicated issue) disagree with the courts decision. Jehovah's witnesses are allowed to refuse treatment for silly reasons, so why shouldn't this girl? I understand that the court has deemed her too immature to make such decisions, but what are they going to do? Strap her down and force the drugs into her system? She's a 17 year old girl, and even if she's walking the road to death-by-alternative-therapy, I believe in her right to do so.